Etymograph

English

leden

Leden comes from Middle English leden ‘Latin (language)’, from Old English lēod ‘people’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁lewdʰ- ‘to grow (up)’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁lewdʰ-1‘to grow (up)’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁léwdʰis1‘people’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*liudiz2‘man, person’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*liudi2‘man, person’reconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150lēod3‘people’
  6. Old Englishc. 450–1150lēoden4‘national or popular language’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500leden4‘Latin (language)’
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1596leden4

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *liudiz
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Old English leod
  3. 3 Wiktionary, Old English leoden
  4. 4 Wiktionary, English leden
  5. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1596, Edmund Spenser, Book IV, Canto XI: “he was expert in prophecies, / And could the…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁lewdʰ-Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *liudiz‘to grow (up)’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁léwdʰisWiktionary, Proto-Germanic *liudiz‘people’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*liudizWiktionary, Old English leod‘man, person’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*liudiWiktionary, Old English leod‘man, person’reconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150lēodWiktionary, Old English leoden‘people’
  6. Old Englishc. 450–1150lēodenWiktionary, English leden‘national or popular language’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500ledenWiktionary, English leden‘Latin (language)’
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1596ledenWiktionary, English leden. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1596, Edmund Spenser, Book IV, Canto XI: “he was expert in prophecies, / And could the…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *h₁lewdʰ- ‘to grow (up)’

liberal, liberty, liberation, liberate, libre, liberator, libertine, libero, 12 more

through Middle English leden ‘Latin (language)’

lead, leed, 2 more

Today it means

noun Language; speech.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “leden”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Germanic *liudiz, Old English leod, Old English leoden. 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 *h₁lewdʰ- / leden

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