English word origin

Etymology of blew

From Middle English blew, from Old English blēow, from Proto-West Germanic *blē.

1 source sectionExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗

In this entry · 1 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 ↗

verb

simple past of blow · past participle of blow

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

From Middle English blew, from Old English blēow, from Proto-West Germanic *blē.

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

Inherited-form mentionblewenm
Inherited-form mentionblēowang
Inherited-form mention*blēgmw-pro

Inspect preserved source fields

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

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "blew"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English blew"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "blēow"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English blēow"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gmw-pro",
        "3": "*blē"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-West Germanic *blē"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "blew",
      "blew#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "blēow",
      "bleow#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "*blē",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/blē"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "simple past of blow",
        "past participle of blow"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "form-of",
        "past",
        "colloquial",
        "dialectal",
        "participle"
      ],
      "recordId": "1b3c5f69ac9cf64d8d657f388591a03406b2b3015189a084cbdbc5570dc79759",
      "rawRecordSha256": "411a0e6e350234ed65e5934c8e8899cf5edbcdadc9c057508204a6358e043c0b",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 30122
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

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 blew →

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-Ymxldw