Where does “mudheap” come from?
mudheap (English) comes from English heap, from Middle English hepe, from Old English hēope, from Proto-Germanic heupǭ, from Proto-Indo-European ḱewb-, from Proto-Indo-European ḱew-, from Proto-Indo-European gʷṓws — cattle.
mudheap (English): A heap of mud; by extension, any pile of...
Definitions
- A heap of mud; by extension, any pile of...
Ancestry of “mudheap”, step by step
mudheap traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English heap
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | heap | A crowd; a throng; a multitude or great number of... |
| 2 | Middle English | hepe | crowd, multitude, assembly |
| 3 | Old English | hēope | hip the fruit of a rose |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | heupǭ | thornbush |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱewb- | briar, thorn |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱew- | skin, colour of the skin; to shine; bright; to... |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | gʷṓws | cattle |
via English MUD
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | MUD | Acronym of multi-user dungeon: an interactive... |
| 2 | Dutch | mud | An old measure of volume, varying in content over... |
| 3 | Middle Dutch | mudde | — |
| 4 | Latin | modius | modius, a unit of dry measure of about a peck or... |
| 5 | Latin | modus | measure |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | mēd- | to measure |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | med- | to measure; to give advice; healing |