Where does “mud” come from?

mud (Middle English) comes from Middle Dutch modde, from Proto-Germanic mud-, from Proto-Indo-European mū- — fly, mosquito; fly, midge; lips, muzzle.

Ancestry of “mud”, step by step

mud traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Middle Dutch modde

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Dutchmodde—
2Proto-Germanicmud-—
3Proto-Indo-Europeanmū-fly, mosquito; fly, midge; lips, muzzle

via Middle Low German modde

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Low Germanmodde—

Words derived from “mud”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European mū- →Every word from Proto-Germanic mud- →Every word from Middle Dutch modde →