Etymograph

English

renew

Renew comes from Middle English renewen, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *new-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*new-1root named by Wiktionary · steps between not traced
  2. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500renewen1
  3. Englishearliest quotation 1526renew1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English renew
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1526, [William Tyndale, The Newe Testamẽt […] (Tyndale Bible): “And fassion not youre selves lyke vnto this worlde:…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*new-Wiktionary, English renewroot named by Wiktionary · steps between not traced
  2. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500renewenWiktionary, English renew
  3. Englishearliest quotation 1526renewWiktionary, English renew. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1526, [William Tyndale, The Newe Testamẽt […] (Tyndale Bible): “And fassion not youre selves lyke vnto this worlde:…”

Formed from re- + new

Proto-Italic *wre- ‘again’

English re-

Proto-Indo-European *nu ‘now’

…

Proto-Germanic *niwjaz ‘new’

Proto-West Germanic *niwi ‘new’

Old English nēowe ‘new’

Middle English neowe

English new

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *new-

need, novel, novice, nouveau, innuendo, renovate, numinous, 12 more

Today it means

verb To make (something) new again; to restore to freshness or original condition.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “renew”. 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 *new- / renew

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