Where does “meek” come from?

Meek comes from Middle English meek, from Old Norse mjúkr, from Proto-Germanic meukaz, from Proto-Indo-European mewg-.

meek (English): Humble, non-boastful, modest, meager, or...

Definitions

  1. Humble, non-boastful, modest, meager, or...

Ancestry of “meek”, step by step

meek traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.

via Middle English meek

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishmeek—
2Old Norsemjúkrsoft; meek
3Proto-Germanicmeukaz—
4Proto-Indo-Europeanmewg-slimy, slippery; slick, slimy

via Middle English meoc

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishmeoc—

via Middle English meke

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishmeke—
Every word from Proto-Indo-European mewg- →Every word from Proto-Germanic meukaz →Every word from Old Norse mjúkr →