Source etymology 1 · variant 1/2
Original entry ↗noun
Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventoryAn approximately spherical or ellipsoidal body produced by birds, insects, reptiles, and other animals, often housing an embryo within a membrane or shell during its development. · The (usually) non-developing, edible egg (sense 1.1) of a domestic fowl such as a duck, goose, or, especially, chicken; (uncountable) the contents of such an egg or eggs used as food. · A food item shaped to resemble an egg (sense 1.1.1), such as a chocolate egg. · Synonym of ovum (“the female gamete of an animal”); an egg cell.
The noun is derived from Middle English eg, egg, egge (“egg of a domestic or wild fowl; egg of a snake”) [and other forms] (originally Northern England and Northeast Midlands), from Old Norse egg (“egg”), from Proto-Germanic *ajją (“egg”) (by Holtzmann’s law), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ōwyóm (“egg”), probably from *h₂éwis (“bird”), from *h₂ew- (“to consume”). Doublet of huevo, oeuf, and ovum. Cognates Cognate with North Frisian ai (“egg”), Saterland Frisian Oai (“egg”), West Frisian aai, aei (“egg”), Bavarian Oa (“egg”), Dutch ei (“egg”), German Ei (“egg”), German Low German Ai, Ägg (“egg”), Limburgish ei, Éï (“egg”), Luxembourgish Ee (“egg”), Mòcheno oi (“egg”), Vilamovian e (“egg”), Yiddish איי (ey, “egg”), Danish æg (“egg”), Faroese, Icelandic, Norwegian Bokmål, and Norwegian Nynorsk egg (“egg”), Swedish ägg (“egg”), Crimean Gothic ada (“egg”); also Breton vi (“egg”), Cornish oy (“egg”), Welsh wy (“egg”), Latin ōvum (“egg”), Greek αβγό (avgó), αυγό (avgó, “egg”), Albanian vo (“egg”), Belarusian and Russian яйцо́ (jajcó, “egg”), Bulgarian яйце́ (jajcé, “egg”), Czech vejce (“egg”), Macedonian јајце (jajce, “egg”), Polish jajo (“egg”), Serbo-Croatian ја́јце, jájce (“egg”), Slovak vajce (“egg”), Slovene jájce (“egg”), Ukrainian яйце́ (jajcé, “egg”), Ossetian айк (ajk), айкӕ (ajkæ, “egg”), Armenian ձու (ju, “egg”), Northern Kurdish hêk (“egg”), Southern Kurdish خا (xa, “egg”), Zazaki hak (“egg”), Pashto هګۍ (hagë́y), ويه (wë́ya, “egg”), Persian خاگ (xâg), خایه (xâye, “egg”). The native English ey [and other forms] (plural eyren) (obsolete), from Old English ǣġ, is also derived from Proto-Germanic *ajją. It survived into at least c. 16th century before being fully displaced by egg. The verb is derived from the noun.
Relationships mentioned by the source
These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.
- Inherited-form mentionegenm
- Derivation mentioneggnon · egg
- Derivation mention*ajjągem-pro · egg
- Derivation mention*h₂ōwyómine-pro · egg
- Doublet mentionhuevoen
- Doublet mentionoeufen
- Doublet mentionovumen
- Cognate mentionaifrr · egg
- Cognate mentionOaistq · egg
- Cognate mentionaaify
- Cognate mentionOabar · egg
- Cognate mentioneinl · egg
- Cognate mentionEide · egg
- Cognate mentioneili
- Cognate mentionEelb · egg
- Cognate mentionoimhn · egg
- Cognate mentionewym · egg
- Cognate mentionאייyi · egg
- Cognate mentionægda · egg
- Cognate mentionäggsv · egg
- Cognate mentionadagme-cgo · egg
- Cognate mentionvibr · egg
- Cognate mentionoykw · egg
- Cognate mentionwycy · egg
- Cognate mentionōvumla · egg
- Cognate mentionαβγόel
- Cognate mentionvosq · egg
- Cognate mentionяйце́bg · egg
- Cognate mentionvejcecs · egg
- Cognate mentionјајцеmk · egg
- Cognate mentionjajopl · egg
- Cognate mentionја́јцеsh
- Cognate mentionvajcesk · egg
- Cognate mentionjájcesl · egg
- Cognate mentionяйце́uk · egg
- Cognate mentionайкos
- Cognate mentionձուhy · egg
- Cognate mentionhêkkmr · egg
- Cognate mentionخاsdh · egg
- Cognate mentionhakzza · egg
- Cognate mentionهګۍps
- Cognate mentionخاگfa
- Cognate mentioneyen
- Cognate mentionǣġang
- Cognate mention*ajjągem-pro
This page abbreviates 16 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.
{
"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": "h₂éwis"
},
"expansion": ""
},
{
"name": "glossary",
"args": {
"1": "noun"
},
"expansion": "noun"
},
{
"name": "inh",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "enm",
"3": "eg"
},
"expansion": "Middle English eg"
},
{
"name": "qualifier",
"args": {
"1": "originally Northern England and Northeast Midlands"
},
"expansion": "(originally Northern England and Northeast Midlands)"
},
{
"name": "der",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "non",
"3": "egg",
"t": "egg"
},
"expansion": "Old Norse egg (“egg”)"
},
{
"name": "der",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "gem-pro",
"3": "*ajją",
"t": "egg"
},
"expansion": "Proto-Germanic *ajją (“egg”)"
},
{
"name": "der",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "ine-pro",
"3": "*h₂ōwyóm",
"t": "egg"
},
"expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *h₂ōwyóm (“egg”)"
},
{
"name": "sup",
"args": {
"1": "1"
},
"expansion": "¹"
},
{
"name": "doublet",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "huevo",
"3": "oeuf",
"4": "ovum"
},
"expansion": "Doublet of huevo, oeuf, and ovum"
},
{
"name": "col-top",
"args": {
"1": "2",
"2": "cog"
},
"expansion": "Cognates"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "frr",
"2": "ai",
"t": "egg"
},
"expansion": "North Frisian ai (“egg”)"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "stq",
"2": "Oai",
"t": "egg"
},
"expansion": "Saterland Frisian Oai (“egg”)"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "fy",
"2": "aai"
},
"expansion": "West Frisian aai"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "bar",
"2": "Oa",
"t": "egg"
},
"expansion": "Bavarian Oa (“egg”)"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "nl",
"2": "ei",
"t": "egg"
},
"expansion": "Dutch ei (“egg”)"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "de",
"2": "Ei",
"t": "egg"
},
"expansion": "German Ei (“egg”)"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "nds-de",
"2": "Ai"
},
"expansion": "German Low German Ai"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "li",
"2": "ei"
},
"expansion": "Limburgish ei"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "lb",
"2": "Ee",
"t": "egg"
},
"expansion": "Luxembourgish Ee (“egg”)"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "mhn",
"2": "oi",
"t": "egg"
},
"expansion": "Mòcheno oi (“egg”)"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "wym",
"2": "e",
"t": "egg"
},
"expansion": "Vilamovian e (“egg”)"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "yi",
"2": "איי",
"t": "egg"
},
"expansion": "Yiddish איי (ey, “egg”)"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "da",
"2": "æg",
"t": "egg"
},
"expansion": "Danish æg (“egg”)"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "fo,is,nb,nn",
"2": "egg",
"t": "egg"
},
"expansion": "Faroese, Icelandic, Norwegian Bokmål, and Norwegian Nynorsk egg (“egg”)"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "sv",
"2": "ägg",
"t": "egg"
},
"expansion": "Swedish ägg (“egg”)"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "gme-cgo",
"2": "ada",
"t": "egg"
},
"expansion": "Crimean Gothic ada (“egg”)"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "br",
"2": "vi",
"t": "egg"
},
"expansion": "Breton vi (“egg”)"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "kw",
"2": "oy",
"t": "egg"
},
"expansion": "Cornish oy (“egg”)"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "cy",
"2": "wy",
"t": "egg"
},
"expansion": "Welsh wy (“egg”)"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "la",
"2": "ōvum",
"t": "egg"
},
"expansion": "Latin ōvum (“egg”)"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "el",
"2": "αβγό"
},
"expansion": "Greek αβγό (avgó)"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "sq",
"2": "vo",
"t": "egg"
},
"expansion": "Albanian vo (“egg”)"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "be,ru",
"2": "яйцо́",
"t": "egg"
},
"expansion": "Belarusian and Russian яйцо́ (jajcó, “egg”)"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "bg",
"2": "яйце́",
"t": "egg"
},
"expansion": "Bulgarian яйце́ (jajcé, “egg”)"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "cs",
"2": "vejce",
"t": "egg"
},
"expansion": "Czech vejce (“egg”)"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "mk",
"2": "јајце",
"t": "egg"
},
"expansion": "Macedonian јајце (jajce, “egg”)"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "pl",
"2": "jajo",
"t": "egg"
},
"expansion": "Polish jajo (“egg”)"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "sh",
"2": "ја́јце"
},
"expansion": "Serbo-Croatian ја́јце"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "sk",
"2": "vajce",
"t": "egg"
},
"expansion": "Slovak vajce (“egg”)"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "sl",
"2": "jájce",
"t": "egg"
},
"expansion": "Slovene jájce (“egg”)"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "uk",
"2": "яйце́",
"t": "egg"
},
"expansion": "Ukrainian яйце́ (jajcé, “egg”)"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "os",
"2": "айк"
},
"expansion": "Ossetian айк (ajk)"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "hy",
"2": "ձու",
"t": "egg"
},
"expansion": "Armenian ձու (ju, “egg”)"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "kmr",
"2": "hêk",
"t": "egg"
},
"expansion": "Northern Kurdish hêk (“egg”)"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "sdh",
"2": "خا",
"t": "egg"
},
"expansion": "Southern Kurdish خا (xa, “egg”)"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "zza",
"2": "hak",
"t": "egg"
},
"expansion": "Zazaki hak (“egg”)"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "ps",
"2": "هګۍ",
"tr": "hagë́y"
},
"expansion": "Pashto هګۍ (hagë́y)"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "fa",
"2": "خاگ",
"tr": "xâg"
},
"expansion": "Persian خاگ (xâg)"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "ey"
},
"expansion": "English ey"
},
{
"name": "qualifier",
"args": {
"1": "obsolete"
},
"expansion": "(obsolete)"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "ang",
"2": "ǣġ"
},
"expansion": "Old English ǣġ"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "gem-pro",
"2": "*ajją"
},
"expansion": "Proto-Germanic *ajją"
},
{
"name": "trim",
"args": {
"1": "16th century"
},
"expansion": "16th century"
},
{
"name": "c.",
"args": {
"1": "16th century"
},
"expansion": "c. 16th century"
},
{
"name": "glossary",
"args": {
"1": "verb"
},
"expansion": "verb"
},
{
"name": "sup",
"args": {
"1": "2"
},
"expansion": "²"
}
],
"links": [
[
"eg",
"eg#Middle_English"
],
[
"egg",
"egg#Middle_English"
],
[
"egge",
"egge#Middle_English"
],
[
"egg",
"egg#Old_Norse"
],
[
"*ajją",
"Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/ajją"
],
[
"*h₂ōwyóm",
"Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂ōwyóm"
],
[
"*h₂éwis",
"Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂éwis"
],
[
"*h₂ew-",
"Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂ew-"
],
[
"huevo",
"huevo#English"
],
[
"oeuf",
"oeuf#English"
],
[
"ovum",
"ovum#English"
],
[
"ai",
"ai#North_Frisian"
],
[
"Oai",
"Oai#Saterland_Frisian"
],
[
"aai",
"aai#West_Frisian"
],
[
"aei",
"aei#West_Frisian"
],
[
"Oa",
"Oa#Bavarian"
],
[
"ei",
"ei#Dutch"
],
[
"Ei",
"Ei#German"
],
[
"Ai",
"Ai#Low_German"
],
[
"Ägg",
"Ägg#Low_German"
],
[
"ei",
"ei#Limburgish"
],
[
"Éï",
"Éï#Limburgish"
],
[
"Ee",
"Ee#Luxembourgish"
],
[
"oi",
"oi#Mòcheno"
],
[
"e",
"e#Vilamovian"
],
[
"איי",
"איי#Yiddish"
],
[
"æg",
"æg#Danish"
],
[
"Faroese",
"egg#Faroese"
],
[
"Icelandic",
"egg#Icelandic"
],
[
"Norwegian Bokmål",
"egg#Norwegian_Bokmål"
],
[
"egg",
"egg#Norwegian_Nynorsk"
],
[
"ägg",
"ägg#Swedish"
],
[
"ada",
"ada#Crimean_Gothic"
],
[
"vi",
"vi#Breton"
],
[
"oy",
"oy#Cornish"
],
[
"wy",
"wy#Welsh"
],
[
"ōvum",
"ovum#Latin"
],
[
"αβγό",
"αβγό#Greek"
],
[
"αυγό",
"αυγό#Greek"
],
[
"vo",
"vo#Albanian"
],
[
"Belarusian",
"яйцо#Belarusian"
],
[
"яйцо́",
"яйцо#Russian"
],
[
"яйце́",
"яйце#Bulgarian"
],
[
"vejce",
"vejce#Czech"
],
[
"јајце",
"јајце#Macedonian"
],
[
"jajo",
"jajo#Polish"
],
[
"ја́јце",
"јајце#Serbo-Croatian"
],
[
"jájce",
"jajce#Serbo-Croatian"
],
[
"vajce",
"vajce#Slovak"
],
[
"jájce",
"jajce#Slovene"
],
[
"яйце́",
"яйце#Ukrainian"
],
[
"айк",
"айк#Ossetian"
],
[
"айкӕ",
"айкӕ#Ossetian"
],
[
"ձու",
"ձու#Armenian"
],
[
"hêk",
"hêk#Northern_Kurdish"
],
[
"خا",
"خا#Southern_Kurdish"
],
[
"hak",
"hak#Zazaki"
],
[
"هګۍ",
"هګۍ#Pashto"
],
[
"ويه",
"ويه#Pashto"
],
[
"خاگ",
"خاگ#Persian"
],
[
"خایه",
"خایه#Persian"
],
[
"ey",
"ey#English"
],
[
"eyren",
"eyren#English"
],
[
"ǣġ",
"æg#Old_English"
],
[
"*ajją",
"Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/ajją"
]
],
"references": [],
"descendants": [
{
"lang": "German",
"lang_code": "de",
"word": "not the yellow from the egg",
"raw_tags": [
"borrowed",
"reshaped by analogy or addition of morphemes"
]
},
{
"lang": "Jamaican Creole",
"lang_code": "jam",
"word": "eg"
},
{
"lang": "Sranan Tongo",
"lang_code": "srn",
"word": "eksi"
}
],
"lexical": [
{
"pos": "noun",
"glosses": [
"An approximately spherical or ellipsoidal body produced by birds, insects, reptiles, and other animals, often housing an embryo within a membrane or shell during its development.",
"The (usually) non-developing, edible egg (sense 1.1) of a domestic fowl such as a duck, goose, or, especially, chicken; (uncountable) the contents of such an egg or eggs used as food.",
"A food item shaped to resemble an egg (sense 1.1.1), such as a chocolate egg.",
"Synonym of ovum (“the female gamete of an animal”); an egg cell."
],
"tags": [
"countable",
"uncountable",
"specifically",
"broadly",
"also"
],
"recordId": "b7037701ccf3dcd9190a8d91e0ba7fccc32ba69c1515ed91b74e04896f42a769",
"rawRecordSha256": "bd0c985ce94e49658f66faf9f7e6289b42c7a5dc0a8511d10c1cf2ded06bd09c",
"sourceRecordOrdinal": 20303
}
],
"omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
"templates": 0,
"links": 0,
"references": 0,
"descendants": 0,
"lexicalRecords": 0,
"lexicalSenses": 16,
"glosses": 0
}
}