Etymograph

English

new

New comes from Old English nēowe, nīwe, from Proto-Germanic *niwjaz ‘new’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *néwos ‘new’, a derivative of *nu ‘now’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*nu1‘now’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*néwos2‘new’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*niwjaz2‘new’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*niwi2‘new’reconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150nēowe2‘new’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500neowe2
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1913new2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *néwos
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English new
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1913, Joseph Crosby Lincoln, New York: “'Twas early June, the new grass was flourishing everywheres,…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*nuWiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *néwos‘now’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*néwosWiktionary, English new‘new’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*niwjazWiktionary, English new‘new’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*niwiWiktionary, English new‘new’reconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150nēoweWiktionary, English new‘new’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500neoweWiktionary, English new
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1913newWiktionary, English new. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1913, Joseph Crosby Lincoln, New York: “'Twas early June, the new grass was flourishing everywheres,…”

Word family

English words that share an ancestor with new, grouped by the ancestor they share, most familiar first.

through Proto-Indo-European *nu ‘now’

  • renovation ← renovacion ← renovātiō ← renovō ← novō
  • innovate ← innovātus ← innovō ← novō ← *nowāō
  • renovate ← renovat(e) ← renovātus ← renovō ← novō
  • innovator ← innovō ← novō ← *nowāō ← *néweh₂ti
  • noo ← nū ← *nū ← *nu
  • telenovela ← novela ← novella ← *novella ← novellus
  • novation ← novātiō ← novō ← novus ← *nowos

through Proto-Indo-European *néwos

  • novel ← novellus ← novus ← *nowos
  • innovation ← innovacion ← innovatio ← innovo ← novō
  • nova ← novus ← *nowos
  • novice ← novīcius ← novus ← *nowos
  • neon ← νέον ← νέος ← *newos

32 more relatives in the full family tree

No ads, ever.

Become a founding member, $29 onceI have a code

Explore everything descended from *nu →

No ads, ever. This is how the app stays alive.

Become a founding member, $29 onceWear this word, $32Support the app

Today it means

adj Recently made, or created.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “new”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Proto-Indo-European *néwos. 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 *nu / new