Etymology Explorer › Middle English

Where does “et” come from?

et (Middle English) comes from Old English æt, from Proto-Turkic āt, from Proto-Germanic ētą, from Proto-Germanic etaną, from Proto-Indo-European h₁édti, from Proto-Indo-European h₁ed- — to eat.

Ancestry of “et”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Englishæteating; at a certain place; at a certain time
2Proto-Turkicātname
3Proto-Germanicētąthe act of eating; food
4Proto-Germanicetanąto eat
5Proto-Indo-Europeanh₁édtito eat
6Proto-Indo-Europeanh₁ed-to eat
Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₁ed- →