Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “heap” come from?

Heap comes from Middle English heep, from Old English hēap, from Proto-West Germanic haup, from Proto-Germanic haupaz, from Proto-Indo-European koupos or kouHp-nó-.

heap (English): A crowd; a throng; a multitude or great number of...

Definitions

  1. A crowd; a throng; a multitude or great number of...

Ancestry of “heap”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishhepe—
2Old Englishhēope—
3Proto-Germanicheupǭ—
4Proto-Indo-Europeanḱewb-briar, thorn
5Proto-Indo-Europeanḱew-skin, colour of the skin; to shine; bright; to...
6Proto-Indo-Europeangʷṓwscattle

Words derived from “heap”

  • scrapheap
  • heapsort
  • dustheap
  • heapeth
  • aheap
  • antheap
  • muckheap
  • heapy
  • heapest
  • heaper
  • sandheap
  • junkheap
  • shitheap
  • mudheap
  • subheap
  • maxheap
  • semiheap
  • heapable
  • heapability
  • heapily
  • heapiness
  • Heap
  • heap
Every word from Proto-Indo-European gʷṓws →