Etymograph

English

plaw

Plaw comes from Old English plegian ‘to play’, from Proto-West Germanic *plegōn ‘to move’, and ultimately from *plegō ‘an exercise, game’.

  1. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*plegō1‘an exercise, game’reconstructed
  2. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*plegōn2‘to move’reconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150plegian3as plagian‘to play’
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500plawen3
  5. Englishtodayplaw3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-West Germanic *plegōn
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Old English plegian
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English plaw

Lineage

  1. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*plegōWiktionary, Proto-West Germanic *plegōn‘an exercise, game’reconstructed
  2. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*plegōnWiktionary, Old English plegian‘to move’reconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150plegianWiktionary, English plawas plagian‘to play’
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500plawenWiktionary, English plaw
  5. EnglishtodayplawWiktionary, English plaw

Linked words

through Proto-West Germanic *plegōn ‘to move’

player

through Old English plegian ‘to play’

play, 1 more

Today it means

verb To boil; seethe.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “plaw”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-West Germanic *plegōn, Old English plegian. 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-West Germanic *plegō / plaw

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