Etymograph

English

hook

Hook comes from Middle English hoke, from Old English hōc, from Proto-Germanic *hōkaz, a variant of *hakô ‘hook’.

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*hōkaz1reconstructed
  2. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*hōk1reconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150hōc1‘hook’
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500hoke1
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1611hook1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English hook
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1611, The Tragedie of Cymbeline: “A shop of all the qualities, that man Loues…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*hōkazWiktionary, English hookreconstructed
  2. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*hōkWiktionary, English hookreconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150hōcWiktionary, English hook‘hook’
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500hokeWiktionary, English hook
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1611hookWiktionary, English hook. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1611, The Tragedie of Cymbeline: “A shop of all the qualities, that man Loues…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *kog-

kaji, 1 more

through Proto-Germanic *hakô

hake

through Middle English hoke

hoke

Today it means

noun A rod bent into a curved shape, typically with one end free and the other end secured to a rope or other attachment.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “hook”. 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-Germanic *hōkaz / hook

Shirt and support for this word