Where does “cheek” come from?

Cheek comes from Middle English cheke, Old English ċēce, Proto-Germanic kakǭ, and Proto-Indo-European gog, with ultimate origins unclear.

cheek (English): The soft skin on each side of the face, below the...

Definitions

  1. The soft skin on each side of the face, below the...

Ancestry of “cheek”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishcheeke—
2Old Englishċēce—
3Proto-West Germanickākājaw, cheek
4Proto-Germanickēkǭ—
5Proto-Indo-Europeanǵyewh₁-to chew

Words derived from “cheek”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European ǵyewh₁- →Every word from Proto-Germanic kēkǭ →Every word from Proto-West Germanic kākā →