Etymograph

English

ey

Ey comes from Old English ǣġ ‘egg’, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂éwis ‘bird’, and perhaps ultimately from *h₂ew- ‘to consume’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂ew-1‘to consume’uncertain
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂éwis1‘bird’uncertain
  3. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂ōwyóm1‘egg’reconstructed
  4. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*ajją1‘egg’reconstructed
  5. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*aij1‘egg’reconstructed
  6. Old Englishc. 450–1150ǣġ1‘egg’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500ei1
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1787ey1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English ey
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1787, originally 1381: “Take brothe of capons withoute herbes, and breke eyren,…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂ew-Wiktionary, English ey‘to consume’uncertain
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂éwisWiktionary, English ey‘bird’uncertain
  3. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂ōwyómWiktionary, English ey‘egg’reconstructed
  4. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*ajjąWiktionary, English ey‘egg’reconstructed
  5. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*aijWiktionary, English ey‘egg’reconstructed
  6. Old Englishc. 450–1150ǣġWiktionary, English ey‘egg’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500eiWiktionary, English ey
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1787eyWiktionary, English ey. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1787, originally 1381: “Take brothe of capons withoute herbes, and breke eyren,…”

The story

Inherited from Middle English ei, ey, from Old English ǣġ, from Proto-West Germanic *aij, from Proto-Germanic *ajją (‘egg’), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ōwyóm (‘egg’), probably from *h₂éwis (‘bird’), from *h₂ew- (‘to consume’).

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *h₂ew- ‘to consume’

audience, ear, audit, acoustic, avid, audible, anesthesia, ovation, obey, aural, avarice, otolaryngology, 66 more

through Proto-Indo-European *h₂éwis ‘bird’

aviation, avian, auspicious, aviator, aviary, ocarina, 11 more

through Proto-Indo-European *h₂ōwyóm ‘egg’

love, oval, 5 more

through Proto-Germanic *ajją ‘egg’

egg, 1 more

through Middle English ei

ay

Another origin of ey

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂ékʷeh₂‘flowing water’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*awjō‘watery land, floodplain, island’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*auwju‘floodplain, meadow’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150ēġ
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500ei
  6. Englishtodayey

Inherited from Middle English ei, i, ie, from Old English ēġ, īġ, īeġ, from Proto-West Germanic *auwju, from Proto-Germanic *awjō (‘watery land, floodplain, island’), earlier *agwjō ~ *ahwjō (literally “(that which is) of the water”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ékʷeh₂ (‘flowing water’) + *-yeh₂.

Today it means

noun An egg.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “ey”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *h₂ew- / ey

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