Where does “honey” come from?

Honey comes from Middle English hony, from Old English huniġ, from Proto-Germanic hunagą and hunangą, tracing back to Proto-Indo-European kn̥h₂ónks with unknown original sense.

honey (English): A viscous, sweet fluid produced from plant nectar...

Definitions

  1. A viscous, sweet fluid produced from plant nectar...

Ancestry of “honey”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle EnglishhonyHoney; Nectar; the secretion of flowers;...
2Old Englishhuniġhoney
3Proto-West Germanichunaghoney
4Proto-Germanic*hunagą—
5Proto-GermanichunangąAlternative form of *hunagą
6Proto-Indo-Europeankn̥h₂onk-o-s—
7Proto-Indo-Europeankn̥h₂ónkshoney

Words derived from “honey”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European kn̥h₂ónks →