Etymograph

English

view

View comes from Middle English vewe ‘an inspection, checkup, or examination,…’, and goes back to Old French veue.

  1. Old Frenchc. 842–1400veue1
  2. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400vewe1
  3. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500vewe1‘an inspection’
  4. Englishearliest quotation c. 1602view1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English view
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1602, William Shakespeare, The Tragedie of Troylus and Cressida: “I have with exact view perused thee, Hector.”.

Lineage

  1. Old Frenchc. 842–1400veueWiktionary, English view
  2. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400veweWiktionary, English view
  3. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500veweWiktionary, English view‘an inspection’
  4. Englishearliest quotation c. 1602viewWiktionary, English view. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1602, William Shakespeare, The Tragedie of Troylus and Cressida: “I have with exact view perused thee, Hector.”

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Today it means

noun The act of seeing or looking at something.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “view”. 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 / Old French veue / view