Etymology Explorer › Middle English

Where does “couth” come from?

couth (Middle English) comes from Old English cūþ, from Old English cunnan, from Proto-West Germanic kunnan, from Proto-Germanic kunnaną, from Proto-Indo-European ǵneh₃- — to know.

Ancestry of “couth”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Englishcūþknown; familiar, intimate, known, usual; certain,...
2Old Englishcunnanto know, to be familiar with; can, to know how
3Proto-West Germanickunnanto recognise; to know how, to be able
4Proto-Germanickunnanąto know, to be familiar with, to recognise; to...
5Proto-Indo-Europeanǵneh₃-to know
Every word from Proto-Indo-European ǵneh₃- →