Etymograph

English

high

High comes from Old English hēah ‘high, tall, lofty, high-class, exalted,…’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *kewk- ‘to bend’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kewk-1‘to bend’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*hauhaz1reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*hauh1reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150hēah1‘high’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500high1
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1591high1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English high
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1591, Henry Barrow, A Plaine Refutation of M. G. Giffardes reprochful booke […]: “Furder, what wil you answeare for your keping a…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kewk-Wiktionary, English high‘to bend’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*hauhazWiktionary, English highreconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*hauhWiktionary, English highreconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150hēahWiktionary, English high‘high’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500highWiktionary, English high
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1591highWiktionary, English high. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1591, Henry Barrow, A Plaine Refutation of M. G. Giffardes reprochful booke […]: “Furder, what wil you answeare for your keping a…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *kewk- ‘to bend’

huge, haughty, 6 more

through Proto-Germanic *hauhaz

height, 5 more

Today it means

adj Physically elevated, extending above a base or average level: Very elevated; extending or being far above a base; tall; lofty.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “high”. 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 *kewk- / high

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