Etymograph

English

quoth

Quoth comes from Proto-Indo-European *gʷet- ‘resin, gum’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʷet-1‘resin, gum’root named by Wiktionary
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*kwaþ1reconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150cwæþ1
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500quoth1
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1807quoth1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English quoth
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1807, Samuel Henshall, The Gothic Gospel of Saint Matthew: “But the Healing-one stood before the under-king, and the…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʷet-Wiktionary, English quoth‘resin, gum’root named by Wiktionary
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*kwaþWiktionary, English quothreconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150cwæþWiktionary, English quoth
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500quothWiktionary, English quoth
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1807quothWiktionary, English quoth. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1807, Samuel Henshall, The Gothic Gospel of Saint Matthew: “But the Healing-one stood before the under-king, and the…”

The story

Unrelated to quote.

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *gʷet- ‘resin, gum’

pudding, bowel, quid, bitumen, bequest, cud, botulism, botulinum, bequeath, 13 more

Today it means

verb Said.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “quoth”. 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 *gʷet- / quoth

Shirt and support for this word