Where does “oxen” come from?

oxen (Middle English) comes from Old English oxan, from Old English oxa, from Proto-West Germanic ohsō, from Proto-Germanic uhsô, from Proto-Indo-European uksḗn, from Proto-Indo-European h₂ug-s-ḗn.

oxen (Middle English): Alternative form of axen

Definitions

  1. Alternative form of axen

Ancestry of “oxen”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Englishoxaninflection of oxa: ## nominative plural ##...
2Old Englishoxaox
3Proto-West Germanicohsōox
4Proto-Germanicuhsôox
5Proto-Indo-Europeanuksḗnbull
6Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂ug-s-ḗn—

Words derived from “oxen”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₂ug-s-ḗn →Every word from Proto-Indo-European uksḗn →Every word from Proto-Germanic uhsô →