Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “Whitney” come from?

Whitney (English) comes from Old English īeġ, from Proto-West Germanic auwju, from Proto-Germanic awjō, from Proto-Germanic agwjō, from Proto-Indo-European h₂ékʷeh₂ — water.

Ancestry of “Whitney”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Englishīeġisland
2Proto-West Germanicauwjufloodplain; meadow; island
3Proto-Germanicawjōfloodplain; meadow; island
4Proto-Germanicagwjō—
5Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂ékʷeh₂water

Words derived from “Whitney”

  • whitneyite
Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₂ékʷeh₂ →