Etymology Explorer › Middle English

Where does “heiȝwei” come from?

heiȝwei (Middle English) comes from Old English hēahweġ, from Old English hēah, from Old English hām, from Proto-West Germanic haim, from Proto-Germanic haimaz, from Proto-Indo-European ḱóymos, from Proto-Indo-European ḱey- — to be lying down; to settle.

Ancestry of “heiȝwei”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Englishhēahweġmain road, highway
2Old Englishhēahhigh, tall, lofty, high-class, exalted, sublime,...
3Old Englishhāmhome; village, community; village, hamlet, manor,...
4Proto-West Germanichaimhome
5Proto-Germanichaimazhome; house; village
6Proto-Indo-Europeanḱóymosof the home, belonging to the family; village,...
7Proto-Indo-Europeanḱey-to be lying down; to settle

Words derived from “heiȝwei”

  • highway
  • highwayman
  • superhighway
  • nonhighway
  • antihighway
  • highwaywoman
  • highwayless
  • highwayed
  • semi-highway
Every word from Proto-Indo-European ḱey- →