Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “mews” come from?

mews (English) comes from English mew, from Middle English mewe, from Old English mǣw, from Proto-West Germanic *maiwī, from Proto-Germanic maiwaz, from Proto-Germanic maiwijaną — to shout, mew.

mews (English): An alley where there are stables; a narrow...

Definitions

  1. An alley where there are stables; a narrow...

Ancestry of “mews”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishmewA gull, seagull; A prison, or other place of...
2Middle Englishmeweseagull, gull; A cage used for allowing birds to...
3Old Englishmǣwmew, seagull; seagull
4Proto-West Germanic*maiwī—
5Proto-Germanicmaiwazgull, seagull
6Proto-Germanicmaiwijanąto shout, mew
Every word from Proto-Germanic maiwijaną →