Where does “mew” come from?

Mew comes from Middle English mewe, from Middle French moue, from Latin mutare meaning "to change," ultimately derived from Proto-Indo-European mew-.

mew (English): A gull, seagull; A prison, or other place of...

Definitions

  1. A gull, seagull; A prison, or other place of...

Ancestry of “mew”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishmeweseagull, gull; A cage used for allowing birds to...
2Old Englishmǣwmew, seagull; seagull
3Proto-West Germanic*maiwīgull, seagull
4Proto-Germanicmaiwazgull, seagull
5Proto-Germanicmaiwijanąto shout, mew

Words derived from “mew

Every word from Proto-Germanic maiwijanąEvery word from Proto-Germanic maiwazEvery word from Proto-West Germanic *maiwī