Etymograph

English

now

Now comes from Middle English nou, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *nū.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*nū1reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*nu1reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*nū1reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150nū1
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500nou1
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1630now1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English now
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1630, Alexander Every, Frederick Arthur Crisp: “[…] to my now wife Mabell, my child Elisabeth,…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*nūWiktionary, English nowreconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*nuWiktionary, English nowreconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*nūWiktionary, English nowreconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150nūWiktionary, English now
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500nouWiktionary, English now
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1630nowWiktionary, English now. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1630, Alexander Every, Frederick Arthur Crisp: “[…] to my now wife Mabell, my child Elisabeth,…”

Linked words

through Old English nū

1 more

Today it means

adj Present; current.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “now”. 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 *nū / now

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