Etymograph

English

quickbeam

Quickbeam comes from Middle English *quykbeem, and goes back to Proto-West Germanic *kwikubaum.

  1. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*kwikubaum1reconstructed
  2. Old Englishc. 450–1150cwicbeam1
  3. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500*quykbeem1reconstructed
  4. Englishtodayquickbeam1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English quickbeam

Lineage

  1. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*kwikubaumWiktionary, English quickbeamreconstructed
  2. Old Englishc. 450–1150cwicbeamWiktionary, English quickbeam
  3. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500*quykbeemWiktionary, English quickbeamreconstructed
  4. EnglishtodayquickbeamWiktionary, English quickbeam

A compound of quick ‘living’ + beam

Proto-Indo-European *gʷeyh₃- ‘to live’

…

Proto-Germanic *kwikwaz ‘alive’

Proto-West Germanic *kwiku ‘alive’

Old English cwic ‘alive’

Middle English quik ‘living’

English quick

Proto-Indo-European *bʰew- ‘to grow, swell’

Proto-Germanic *baumaz ‘tree, beam, balk’

Proto-West Germanic *baum ‘tree’

Old English bēam ‘tree, cross, gallows, column, pillar, wood,…’

Middle English bem ‘a beam’

English beam

Every English word from Proto-West Germanic *kwikubaum

Today it means

noun The European rowan tree.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “quickbeam”. 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 *kwikubaum / quickbeam

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