English
hay
Hay comes from Proto-Germanic *hawwaną ‘to hew, cut down’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *kewh₂-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kewh₂-1‘to beat, hew, forge’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*hawwaną2‘to hew, cut down’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*hawją2reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*hawi2reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150hīeġ2
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500hey2
- Englishearliest quotation 1605hay2
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *hawwaną
- 2 Wiktionary, English hay
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1605, M. N. pseudonym; William Camden, Remaines of a Greater Worke: “Make hay while sunne shines.”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kewh₂-Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *hawwaną‘to beat, hew, forge’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*hawwanąWiktionary, English hay‘to hew, cut down’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*hawjąWiktionary, English hayreconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*hawiWiktionary, English hayreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150hīeġWiktionary, English hay
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500heyWiktionary, English hay
- Englishearliest quotation 1605hayWiktionary, English hay. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1605, M. N. pseudonym; William Camden, Remaines of a Greater Worke: “Make hay while sunne shines.”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *kewh₂- ‘to beat, hew, forge’
through Proto-Germanic *hawwaną ‘to hew, cut down’
hog, hoe, hew, hag, haggis, 2 more
through Proto-West Germanic *hawi
through Middle English hey
Today it means
noun Grass cut and dried for use as animal fodder.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “hay”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Proto-Germanic *hawwaną. 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.