Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “hawkish” come from?

Hawkish derives from Middle English -isch, Old English hafoc, Frankish happja, and Proto-Germanic habukaz, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European keh₂p-, meaning to seize or grasp.

hawkish (English): Supportive of warlike foreign policy; bellicose;...

Definitions

  1. Supportive of warlike foreign policy; bellicose;...

Ancestry of “hawkish”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishhawkA diurnal predatory bird of the family...
2EnglishhawkerA peddler, huckster, who travels about to sell...
3Middle Low Germanhȫkerpeddler
4Old High Germanhuchan—
5Proto-Germanic*hūkan-—
6Proto-Germanic*hūkkan-—
7Proto-Germanic*huk(k)ōn-—
8Proto-Indo-European*kuk-néh₂—
9Proto-Indo-Europeanḱewk-flare up, glow; white; to glow, burn, lighten

Words derived from “hawkish”

  • hawkishness
  • hawkishly
Every word from Proto-Indo-European ḱewk- →