Where does “raw” come from?
Raw comes from Middle English rawe, derived from Proto-Indo-European reyk- and ultimately from the root krewh₂-, meaning to break or separate.
raw (English): Not cooked; Not treated or processed; in a...
Definitions
- Not cooked; Not treated or processed; in a...
Ancestry of “raw”, step by step
raw traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Middle English rawe
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle English | rawe | raw; raw, unprocessed, unfiltered; wounded, hurt,... |
| 2 | Old English | hrēaw | raw, uncooked |
| 3 | Proto-West Germanic | hrau | raw |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | hrawaz | raw, uncooked |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | krewh₂- | blood outside the body |
via Old English rāw
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Old English | rāw | — |
| 2 | Proto-Germanic | raiwō | — |
| 3 | Proto-Indo-European | reyk- | to tear, scratch; streak; to carve, scratch, etch |