Etymograph

English

haut

Haut comes from Old French haut ‘high (elevated)’, and goes back to Frankish *hauh.

  1. Frankishc. 250–700*hauh1reconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEaltus1‘high, tall’
  3. Old Frenchc. 842–1400haut2‘high (elevated)’
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500haut2
  5. Englishearliest quotation c. 1515–1516haut2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Old French haut
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English haut
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1515–1516, published 1568, John Skelton: “My ſcole is more ſolem and ſomwhat more haute”.

Lineage

  1. Frankishc. 250–700*hauhWiktionary, Old French hautreconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEaltusWiktionary, Old French haut‘high, tall’
  3. Old Frenchc. 842–1400hautWiktionary, English haut‘high (elevated)’
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500hautWiktionary, English haut
  5. Englishearliest quotation c. 1515–1516hautWiktionary, English haut. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1515–1516, published 1568, John Skelton: “My ſcole is more ſolem and ſomwhat more haute”

Linked words

through Latin altus ‘high, tall’

altitude, alt, altar, alto, exalt, altimeter, 13 more

through Old French haut ‘high (elevated)’

haughty, 4 more

Today it means

adj Haughty.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “haut”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Old French haut. 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 / Frankish *hauh / haut

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