*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of haw

From Middle English ha (interjection). Compare Old Norse há (interjection), Middle Low German ha, hā (interjection), Old High German aha, hei (interjection).

4 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 4 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

To stop, in speaking, with a sound like haw; to speak with interruption and hesitation.

intj

An imitation of laughter, often used to express scorn or disbelief. Often doubled or tripled (haw haw or haw haw haw). · An intermission or hesitation of speech, with a sound somewhat like "haw"; the sound so made.

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

From Middle English ha (interjection). Compare Old Norse há (interjection), Middle Low German ha, hā (interjection), Old High German aha, hei (interjection).

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

  • Inherited-form mentionhaenm
  • Cognate mentionhánon
  • Cognate mentionhagml
  • Cognate mentionahagoh
Inspect preserved source fields

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

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        "3": "ha",
        "pos": "interjection"
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      "expansion": "Middle English ha (interjection)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "non",
        "2": "há",
        "pos": "interjection"
      },
      "expansion": "Old Norse há (interjection)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "gml",
        "2": "ha"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle Low German ha"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "goh",
        "2": "aha"
      },
      "expansion": "Old High German aha"
    }
  ],
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      "ha#Middle_English"
    ],
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      "há",
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    ],
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      "ha",
      "ha#Middle_Low_German"
    ],
    [
      "hā",
      "ha#Middle_Low_German"
    ],
    [
      "aha",
      "aha#Old_High_German"
    ],
    [
      "hei",
      "hei#Old_High_German"
    ]
  ],
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  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
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Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
noun

Fruit of the hawthorn. · A hedge. · Something that has little value or importance; a whit or jot.

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

From Middle English hawe, from Old English haga (“enclosure, hedge”), from Proto-Germanic *hagô (compare West Frisian haach, Dutch haag, German Hag (“hedged farmland”), Norwegian Bokmål hage (“garden”)), from Proto-Indo-European *kagʰom (compare Welsh cae (“field”), Latin caulae (“sheepfold, enclosure”), cohum (“strap between plowbeam and yoke”), Russian кош (koš, “tent”), коша́ра (košára, “sheepfold”), Sanskrit कक्ष (kakṣa, “curtain wall”)), from *kagʰ- 'to catch, grasp' (compare Welsh cau (“to clasp”), Oscan kahad (“may he seize”).

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.

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    },
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    },
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      "name": "cog",
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        "2": "haag"
      },
      "expansion": "Dutch haag"
    },
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      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "Hag",
        "3": "",
        "4": "hedged farmland"
      },
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    },
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      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nb",
        "2": "hage",
        "3": "",
        "4": "garden"
      },
      "expansion": "Norwegian Bokmål hage (“garden”)"
    },
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      "name": "der",
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        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*kagʰom"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *kagʰom"
    },
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        "1": "cy",
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    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "la",
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        "3": "",
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      },
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    },
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        "1": "ru",
        "2": "кош",
        "3": "",
        "4": "tent"
      },
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    },
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      "args": {
        "1": "sa",
        "2": "कक्ष",
        "3": "",
        "4": "curtain wall"
      },
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    },
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      "args": {
        "1": "cy",
        "2": "cau",
        "3": "",
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      },
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    },
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      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "osc",
        "2": "kahad",
        "3": "",
        "4": "may he seize"
      },
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    }
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      "hawe#Middle_English"
    ],
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      "haga",
      "haga#Old_English"
    ],
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      "*hagô",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/hagô"
    ],
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      "haach",
      "haach#West_Frisian"
    ],
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      "haag",
      "haag#Dutch"
    ],
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      "Hag",
      "Hag#German"
    ],
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      "hage",
      "hage#Norwegian_Bokmål"
    ],
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    ],
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    ],
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      "caulae",
      "caulae#Latin"
    ],
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      "cohum",
      "cohum#Latin"
    ],
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      "кош",
      "кош#Russian"
    ],
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      "коша́ра",
      "кошара#Russian"
    ],
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    ],
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      "*kagʰ-",
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    ],
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    ],
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    ]
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        "Fruit of the hawthorn.",
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      ],
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Source etymology 3

Original entry ↗
intj

An instruction for a horse or other animal to turn towards the driver, typically left.

verb

To turn towards the driver, typically to the left. · To cause (an animal) to turn left.

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

Assumed to be interjectory, but compare Old English hawian (“to observe, look”)

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

  • Cognate mentionhawianang · to observe, look
Inspect preserved source fields

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

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    {
      "name": "cog",
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        "2": "hawian",
        "t": "to observe, look"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English hawian (“to observe, look”)"
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      "hawian",
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Source etymology 4

Original entry ↗
noun

The third eyelid, or nictitating membrane. · A disease of the nictitating membrane.

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

Late Middle English (denoting a discharge from the eye), of uncertain origin. Perhaps related to Etymology 2 above, describing a berry.

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 haw →

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-aGF3