*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of heap

From Middle English hepe, from Old English hēap, from Proto-West Germanic *haup, from Proto-Germanic *haupaz (compare Dutch hoop, German Low German Hupen, German Haufen), from Proto-Indo-European *koupos (“hill”) (compar

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.

Unnumbered source etymology · variant 1/2

Original entry ↗
verb

To pile in a heap. · To form or round into a heap, as in measuring. · To supply in great quantity.

adv

very or much; representing broken English stereotypically or comically attributed to Native Americans

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

From Middle English hepe, from Old English hēap, from Proto-West Germanic *haup, from Proto-Germanic *haupaz (compare Dutch hoop, German Low German Hupen, German Haufen), from Proto-Indo-European *koupos (“hill”) (compare Lithuanian kaũpas, Albanian qipi (“stack”), Avestan 𐬐𐬂𐬟𐬀 (kåfa)).

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": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "hepe"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English hepe"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "hēap"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English hēap"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gmw-pro",
        "3": "*haup"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-West Germanic *haup"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*haupaz"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *haupaz"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nl",
        "2": "hoop"
      },
      "expansion": "Dutch hoop"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nds-de",
        "2": "Hupen"
      },
      "expansion": "German Low German Hupen"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "Haufen"
      },
      "expansion": "German Haufen"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*koupos",
        "4": "",
        "5": "hill"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *koupos (“hill”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "lt",
        "2": "kaũpas"
      },
      "expansion": "Lithuanian kaũpas"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sq",
        "2": "qipi",
        "3": "",
        "4": "stack"
      },
      "expansion": "Albanian qipi (“stack”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "ae",
        "2": "𐬐𐬂𐬟𐬀"
      },
      "expansion": "Avestan 𐬐𐬂𐬟𐬀 (kåfa)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "hepe",
      "hepe#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "hēap",
      "heap#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "*haup",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/haup"
    ],
    [
      "*haupaz",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/haupaz"
    ],
    [
      "hoop",
      "hoop#Dutch"
    ],
    [
      "Hupen",
      "Hupen#Low_German"
    ],
    [
      "Haufen",
      "Haufen#German"
    ],
    [
      "*koupos",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/koupos"
    ],
    [
      "kaũpas",
      "kaupas#Lithuanian"
    ],
    [
      "qipi",
      "qipi#Albanian"
    ],
    [
      "𐬐𐬂𐬟𐬀",
      "𐬐𐬂𐬟𐬀#Avestan"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "To pile in a heap.",
        "To form or round into a heap, as in measuring.",
        "To supply in great quantity."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "transitive"
      ],
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    },
    {
      "pos": "adv",
      "glosses": [
        "very or much; representing broken English stereotypically or comically attributed to Native Americans"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "not-comparable",
        "offensive",
        "possibly"
      ],
      "recordId": "acd23d9e9fd071b18b2351f4561046035979192ffffb4187e061b8503374683a",
      "rawRecordSha256": "cbac391e0d8d8b24e4a909959efa111b751b9902065b0a50473aac61364bf50a",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 237214
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
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    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
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  }
}

Unnumbered source etymology · variant 2/2

Original entry ↗
noun

A crowd; a throng; a multitude or great number of people. · A pile or mass; a collection of things laid in a body, or thrown together so as to form an elevation. · A great number or large quantity of things. · A data structure consisting of trees in which each node is greater than all its children.

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

From Middle English hepe, from Old English hēap, from Proto-West Germanic *haup, from Proto-Germanic *haupaz (compare Dutch hoop, German Low German Hupen, German Haufen), from Proto-Indo-European *koupos (“hill”) (compare Lithuanian kaũpas, Albanian qipi (“stack”), Avestan 𐬐𐬂𐬟𐬀 (kåfa)).

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": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "hepe"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English hepe"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "hēap"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English hēap"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gmw-pro",
        "3": "*haup"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-West Germanic *haup"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*haupaz"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *haupaz"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nl",
        "2": "hoop"
      },
      "expansion": "Dutch hoop"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nds-de",
        "2": "Hupen"
      },
      "expansion": "German Low German Hupen"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "Haufen"
      },
      "expansion": "German Haufen"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*koupos",
        "4": "",
        "5": "hill"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *koupos (“hill”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "lt",
        "2": "kaũpas"
      },
      "expansion": "Lithuanian kaũpas"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sq",
        "2": "qipi",
        "3": "",
        "4": "stack"
      },
      "expansion": "Albanian qipi (“stack”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "ae",
        "2": "𐬐𐬂𐬟𐬀"
      },
      "expansion": "Avestan 𐬐𐬂𐬟𐬀 (kåfa)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "hepe",
      "hepe#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "hēap",
      "heap#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "*haup",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/haup"
    ],
    [
      "*haupaz",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/haupaz"
    ],
    [
      "hoop",
      "hoop#Dutch"
    ],
    [
      "Hupen",
      "Hupen#Low_German"
    ],
    [
      "Haufen",
      "Haufen#German"
    ],
    [
      "*koupos",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/koupos"
    ],
    [
      "kaũpas",
      "kaupas#Lithuanian"
    ],
    [
      "qipi",
      "qipi#Albanian"
    ],
    [
      "𐬐𐬂𐬟𐬀",
      "𐬐𐬂𐬟𐬀#Avestan"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [
    {
      "lang": "Sranan Tongo",
      "lang_code": "srn",
      "word": "ipi"
    }
  ],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A crowd; a throng; a multitude or great number of people.",
        "A pile or mass; a collection of things laid in a body, or thrown together so as to form an elevation.",
        "A great number or large quantity of things.",
        "A data structure consisting of trees in which each node is greater than all its children."
      ],
      "tags": [],
      "recordId": "20b0d15f4d9a155a893e23080ce49494ac1e709070d4da59445a6d3ea865a014",
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    "lexicalSenses": 3,
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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 heap →

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-aGVhcA