Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “dewy” come from?

Dewy comes from Middle English dewy, from Old English dēawiġ, derived from Old English dēaw meaning dew, from Proto-Germanic dawwaz, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European dʰewh₂-.

dewy (English): Covered by dew; Having the quality of bearing...

Definitions

  1. Covered by dew; Having the quality of bearing...

Ancestry of “dewy”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle EnglishdewyResembling dew; dewy; Resembling water
2Old Englishdēawiġ—
3Old English-iġ-y, -ic
4Proto-West Germanic-gForms adjectives from nouns and verbs with a...
5Proto-Germanic-gaz-y
6Proto-Indo-European-ḱos-y, -ic

Words derived from “dewy”

  • dewiness
  • dewily
  • dewy-eyed
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -ḱos →