*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of flood

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *pleh₃(w)-der. Proto-Germanic *flōduz Proto-West Germanic *flōdu Old English flōd Middle English flod English flood Inherited from Middle English flod, from Old English flōd, from Proto

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.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗
noun

An overflow of a large amount of water (usually disastrous) from a lake or other body of water due to excessive rainfall or other input of water. · A large number or quantity of anything appearing more rapidly than can easily be dealt with. · The flowing in of the tide, opposed to the ebb. · A floodlight.

verb

To overflow, as by water from excessive rainfall. · To cover or partly fill as if by a flood. · To provide (someone or something) with a larger number or quantity of something than can easily be dealt with. · To paste numerous lines of text to (a chat system) in order to disrupt the conversation.

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

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *pleh₃(w)-der. Proto-Germanic *flōduz Proto-West Germanic *flōdu Old English flōd Middle English flod English flood Inherited from Middle English flod, from Old English flōd, from Proto-West Germanic *flōdu, from Proto-Germanic *flōduz, from Proto-Indo-European *pleh₃(w)-. Cognate with Scots flude, fluid, Saterland Frisian Floud, Dutch vloed, German Flut, Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, and Swedish flod, Icelandic flóð, and Gothic 𐍆𐌻𐍉𐌳𐌿𐍃 (flōdus).

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

This page abbreviates 3 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": "ety",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":inh",
        "3": "enm:flod",
        "tree": "1",
        "text": "++"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *pleh₃(w)-der.\nProto-Germanic *flōduz\nProto-West Germanic *flōdu\nOld English flōd\nMiddle English flod\nEnglish flood\n[Appendix:Glossary#derived_terms|Derived]] from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*pleh₃(w)-\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"derived\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*flōduz\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"gem-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-West Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*flōdu\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"gmw-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Old English\", \"term\" : \"flōd\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"ang\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Middle English\", \"term\" : \"flod\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"enm\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"flood\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }\" data-lang=\"en\" data-title=\"flood\">\nInherited from Middle English flod, from Old English flōd, from Proto-West Germanic *flōdu, from Proto-Germanic *flōduz, from Proto-Indo-European *pleh₃(w)-."
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sco",
        "2": "flude"
      },
      "expansion": "Scots flude"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "stq",
        "2": "Floud"
      },
      "expansion": "Saterland Frisian Floud"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nl",
        "2": "vloed"
      },
      "expansion": "Dutch vloed"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "Flut"
      },
      "expansion": "German Flut"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "da,nb,nn,sv",
        "2": "flod"
      },
      "expansion": "Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, and Swedish flod"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "is",
        "2": "flóð"
      },
      "expansion": "Icelandic flóð"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "got",
        "2": "𐍆𐌻𐍉𐌳𐌿𐍃"
      },
      "expansion": "Gothic 𐍆𐌻𐍉𐌳𐌿𐍃 (flōdus)"
    },
    {
      "name": "ety",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":inh",
        "3": "enm:flod",
        "tree": "1",
        "text": "++"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *pleh₃(w)-der.\nProto-Germanic *flōduz\nProto-West Germanic *flōdu\nOld English flōd\nMiddle English flod\nEnglish flood\nInherited from Middle English flod, from Old English flōd, from Proto-West Germanic *flōdu, from Proto-Germanic *flōduz, from Proto-Indo-European *pleh₃(w)-."
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "*pleh₃(w)-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/pleh₃(w)-"
    ],
    [
      "*flōduz",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/flōduz"
    ],
    [
      "*flōdu",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/flōdu"
    ],
    [
      "flōd",
      "flod#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "flod",
      "flod#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "flod",
      "flod#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "flōd",
      "flod#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "*flōdu",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/flōdu"
    ],
    [
      "*flōduz",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/flōduz"
    ],
    [
      "*pleh₃(w)-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/pleh₃(w)-"
    ],
    [
      "flude",
      "flude#Scots"
    ],
    [
      "fluid",
      "fluid#Scots"
    ],
    [
      "Floud",
      "Floud#Saterland_Frisian"
    ],
    [
      "vloed",
      "vloed#Dutch"
    ],
    [
      "Flut",
      "Flut#German"
    ],
    [
      "Danish",
      "flod#Danish"
    ],
    [
      "Norwegian Bokmål",
      "flod#Norwegian_Bokmål"
    ],
    [
      "Norwegian Nynorsk",
      "flod#Norwegian_Nynorsk"
    ],
    [
      "flod",
      "flod#Swedish"
    ],
    [
      "flóð",
      "flóð#Icelandic"
    ],
    [
      "𐍆𐌻𐍉𐌳𐌿𐍃",
      "𐍆𐌻𐍉𐌳𐌿𐍃#Gothic"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "An overflow of a large amount of water (usually disastrous) from a lake or other body of water due to excessive rainfall or other input of water.",
        "A large number or quantity of anything appearing more rapidly than can easily be dealt with.",
        "The flowing in of the tide, opposed to the ebb.",
        "A floodlight."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "figuratively"
      ],
      "recordId": "3e3f4709a9d0e22c047d066766a5e29b258ec71626274fc5025db6da23086293",
      "rawRecordSha256": "503356f6cd6ab102843fed773ef401a8dd5d9315122c139557d92b772d33e4a0",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 151546
    },
    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "To overflow, as by water from excessive rainfall.",
        "To cover or partly fill as if by a flood.",
        "To provide (someone or something) with a larger number or quantity of something than can easily be dealt with.",
        "To paste numerous lines of text to (a chat system) in order to disrupt the conversation."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "figuratively",
        "Internet",
        "ambitransitive"
      ],
      "recordId": "98766f77db33553ba7ef4187b194bd82e49e3c4c89f387491fd49c1547a97d52",
      "rawRecordSha256": "1a50c2b1a749715e79f69af589be588054e93ff98956f270db2581ed06e5a7da",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 151547
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 3,
    "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 flood →

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-Zmxvb2Q