English word origin

Etymology of Eve

From Middle English Eve, Eue, from Old English Ēua, Ēfe, from Latin Eva, from Ancient Greek Εὔα (Eúa), from Biblical Hebrew חַוָּה (ḥawwā).

3 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗

In this entry · 3 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗

name

The first woman and mother of the human race; Adam's wife. · An unspecified primordial woman, from whom many or all people are descended. · A female given name from Hebrew. · An unincorporated community in Kentucky, United States.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Middle English Eve, Eue, from Old English Ēua, Ēfe, from Latin Eva, from Ancient Greek Εὔα (Eúa), from Biblical Hebrew חַוָּה (ḥawwā).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inherited-form mentionEveenm
Inherited-form mentionĒuaang
Derivation mentionEvala
Derivation mentionΕὔαgrc

This page abbreviates 1 auxiliary source items. The etymology narrative is not shortened. Omission counts are available in the audit fields below; consult the original for complete auxiliary material.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "Eve"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English Eve"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "Ēua"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English Ēua"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la",
        "3": "Eva"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin Eva"
    },
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      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "grc",
        "3": "Εὔα"
      },
      "expansion": "Ancient Greek Εὔα (Eúa)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
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        "2": "hbo",
        "3": "חַוָּה",
        "tr": "ḥawwā"
      },
      "expansion": "Biblical Hebrew חַוָּה (ḥawwā)"
    }
  ],
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    [
      "Eve",
      "Eve#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "Eue",
      "Eue#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "Ēua",
      "Eua#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "Ēfe",
      "Efe#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "Eva",
      "Eva#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "Εὔα",
      "Εὔα#Ancient_Greek"
    ],
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      "חַוָּה",
      "חוה#Hebrew"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
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        "The first woman and mother of the human race; Adam's wife.",
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        "An unincorporated community in Kentucky, United States."
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}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗

name

A conventional name for an agent attempting to intercept a message sent by Alice that is intended for Bob.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

A pun on eavesdropper.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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Source etymology 3

Original entry ↗

name

An English surname.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Either a variant of Eaves or a matronymic from the given name.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for Eve →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger

Machine-source provenance

Source SHA-256: 5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run: 73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID: w-RXZl