*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of eau

From Middle English ea, eo, from Old English ēa (“running water, water, stream, river”), from Proto-Germanic *ahwō (“waters, river”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ekʷeh₂ (“water, flowing water”). Compare English aqua. Com

2 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 2 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 ↗
noun

Alternative form of ea.

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

From Middle English ea, eo, from Old English ēa (“running water, water, stream, river”), from Proto-Germanic *ahwō (“waters, river”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ekʷeh₂ (“water, flowing water”). Compare English aqua. Compare ea, yeo. Related to, and spelling influenced by, but not derived from French eau (“water”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

  • Inherited-form mentioneaenm
  • Inherited-form mentionēaang · running water, water, stream, river
  • Inherited-form mention*ahwōgem-pro · waters, river
  • Inherited-form mention*h₂ekʷeh₂ine-pro · water, flowing water
  • Cognate mentionaquaen
  • Non-cognate comparisoneaufr
Inspect preserved source fields

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

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "dercat",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro"
      },
      "expansion": ""
    },
    {
      "name": "langname",
      "args": {
        "1": "ine-pro"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European"
    },
    {
      "name": "word",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine",
        "3": "h₂ékʷeh₂"
      },
      "expansion": ""
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "ea"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English ea"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "ēa",
        "t": "running water, water, stream, river"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English ēa (“running water, water, stream, river”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*ahwō",
        "t": "waters, river"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *ahwō (“waters, river”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*h₂ekʷeh₂",
        "t": "water, flowing water"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *h₂ekʷeh₂ (“water, flowing water”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "aqua"
      },
      "expansion": "English aqua"
    },
    {
      "name": "ncog",
      "args": {
        "1": "fr",
        "2": "eau",
        "3": "",
        "4": "water"
      },
      "expansion": "French eau (“water”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "ea",
      "ea#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "eo",
      "eo#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "ēa",
      "ea#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "*ahwō",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/ahwō"
    ],
    [
      "*h₂ekʷeh₂",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂ekʷeh₂"
    ],
    [
      "aqua",
      "aqua#English"
    ],
    [
      "ea",
      "ea#English"
    ],
    [
      "yeo",
      "yeo#English"
    ],
    [
      "eau",
      "eau#French"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "Alternative form of ea."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "alt-of",
        "alternative"
      ],
      "recordId": "cad94ac815f0c4d9317842c10142df322eda9c470cf5bd62351179145f564644",
      "rawRecordSha256": "9dddd600b7c1bd7764d194e20b5f85640b0a14936f4de804e48b31ced010ff8a",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 168297
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
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    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
noun

Water.

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

From French eau, from Middle French eau, eaue, from Old French ewe, euwe, egua (“water”), from Latin aqua (“water”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ekʷeh₂ (“water, flowing water”). Doublet of aqua.

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

Inspect preserved source fields

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

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "bor",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "fr",
        "3": "eau"
      },
      "expansion": "French eau"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "frm",
        "3": "eau, eaue"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle French eau, eaue"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "fro",
        "3": "ewe"
      },
      "expansion": "Old French ewe"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la",
        "3": "aqua",
        "4": "",
        "5": "water"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin aqua (“water”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*h₂ekʷeh₂",
        "4": "",
        "5": "water, flowing water"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *h₂ekʷeh₂ (“water, flowing water”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "doublet",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "aqua"
      },
      "expansion": "Doublet of aqua"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "eau",
      "eau#French"
    ],
    [
      "eau",
      "eau#Middle_French"
    ],
    [
      "eaue",
      "eaue#Middle_French"
    ],
    [
      "ewe",
      "ewe#Old_French"
    ],
    [
      "euwe",
      "euwe#Old_French"
    ],
    [
      "egua",
      "egua#Old_French"
    ],
    [
      "aqua",
      "aqua#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "*h₂ekʷeh₂",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂ekʷeh₂"
    ],
    [
      "aqua",
      "aqua#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "Water."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "uncountable"
      ],
      "recordId": "e88bb9d2543a18460487478c129f67f996e053b1bdaa7e72051f9dfcb3e8db32",
      "rawRecordSha256": "d9ce356d2c7094444afb861e192a1ebeb597d161f65152b62f1103ecb2aeed75",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 168298
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
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    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
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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 eau →

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-ZWF1