*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of hind

Etymology tree Proto-Germanic *hinder Old English hindan Middle English hinde English hind From Middle English hinde, from Old English hindan (“at the rear, from behind”), Proto-Germanic *hinder (“behind, beyond”), from

3 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 3 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 ↗
adj

Located at the rear (most often said of animals' body parts). · Backward; to the rear.

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

Etymology tree Proto-Germanic *hinder Old English hindan Middle English hinde English hind From Middle English hinde, from Old English hindan (“at the rear, from behind”), Proto-Germanic *hinder (“behind, beyond”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱem-ta- (“down, below, with, far, along, against”), from *ḱóm (“beside, near, by, with”). Cognate with Gothic 𐌷𐌹𐌽𐌳𐌰𐌽𐌰 (hindana, “from beyond”), Old Norse hindr (“obstacle”), Old Norse handan (“from that side, beyond”), Old High German hintana (“behind”), German hinter (“behind, beyond”), Old English hinder (“behind, back, in the farthest part, down”), Latin contra (“in return, against”). More at hinder, contrary.

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": "etymon",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":inh",
        "3": "enm:hinde<ety:inh<ang:hindan>>",
        "id": "rear",
        "tree": "1"
      },
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      "expansion": "Middle English hinde"
    },
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      "name": "inh",
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        "2": "ang",
        "3": "hindan",
        "t": "at the rear, from behind"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English hindan (“at the rear, from behind”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*hinder",
        "4": "",
        "5": "behind, beyond"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *hinder (“behind, beyond”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*ḱem-ta-",
        "4": "",
        "5": "down, below, with, far, along, against"
      },
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    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
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        "1": "got",
        "2": "𐌷𐌹𐌽𐌳𐌰𐌽𐌰",
        "3": "",
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      },
      "expansion": "Gothic 𐌷𐌹𐌽𐌳𐌰𐌽𐌰 (hindana, “from beyond”)"
    },
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      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "non",
        "2": "hindr",
        "3": "",
        "4": "obstacle"
      },
      "expansion": "Old Norse hindr (“obstacle”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "non",
        "2": "handan",
        "3": "",
        "4": "from that side, beyond"
      },
      "expansion": "Old Norse handan (“from that side, beyond”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "goh",
        "2": "hintana",
        "3": "",
        "4": "behind"
      },
      "expansion": "Old High German hintana (“behind”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "hinter",
        "3": "",
        "4": "behind, beyond"
      },
      "expansion": "German hinter (“behind, beyond”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
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        "2": "hinder",
        "3": "",
        "4": "behind, back, in the farthest part, down"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English hinder (“behind, back, in the farthest part, down”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "la",
        "2": "contra",
        "3": "",
        "4": "in return, against"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin contra (“in return, against”)"
    },
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    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "*hinder",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/hinder"
    ],
    [
      "hindan",
      "hindan#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "hinde",
      "hinde#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "hinde",
      "hinde#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "hindan",
      "hindan#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "*hinder",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/hinder"
    ],
    [
      "*ḱem-ta-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/ḱem-ta-"
    ],
    [
      "*ḱóm",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/ḱóm"
    ],
    [
      "𐌷𐌹𐌽𐌳𐌰𐌽𐌰",
      "𐌷𐌹𐌽𐌳𐌰𐌽𐌰#Gothic"
    ],
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      "hindr",
      "hindr#Old_Norse"
    ],
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      "handan",
      "handan#Old_Norse"
    ],
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      "hintana",
      "hintana#Old_High_German"
    ],
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      "hinter",
      "hinter#German"
    ],
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      "hinder",
      "hinder#Old_English"
    ],
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      "contra",
      "contra#Latin"
    ],
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      "hinder",
      "hinder#English"
    ],
    [
      "contrary",
      "contrary#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
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      "glosses": [
        "Located at the rear (most often said of animals' body parts).",
        "Backward; to the rear."
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Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
noun

A doe (female deer), especially a red deer at least two years old. · A spotted food fish of the genus Epinephelus.

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

From Middle English hind, hinde, hynde, from Old English hind, Proto-West Germanic *hindu, from Proto-Germanic *hindō, *hindiz, from a formation on Proto-Indo-European *ḱem- (“hornless”). Cognate with Dutch hinde, German Hinde, Danish hind.

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

  • Inherited-form mentionhindenm
  • Inherited-form mentionhindang
  • Inherited-form mention*hindugmw-pro
  • Inherited-form mention*hindōgem-pro
  • Derivation mention*ḱem-ine-pro
  • Cognate mentionhindenl
  • Cognate mentionHindede
  • Cognate mentionhindda
Inspect preserved source fields

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

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      "args": {
        "sisterclass": "wikispecies",
        "logo": "Wikispecies-logo.svg",
        "intro": "Wikispecies has information on",
        "link": "Epinephelus"
      },
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    },
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      "expansion": "Old English hind"
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        "2": "gmw-pro",
        "3": "*hindu"
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        "2": "gem-pro",
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        "5": "hornless"
      },
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    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nl",
        "2": "hinde"
      },
      "expansion": "Dutch hinde"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "Hinde"
      },
      "expansion": "German Hinde"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "da",
        "2": "hind"
      },
      "expansion": "Danish hind"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "hind",
      "hind#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "hinde",
      "hinde#Middle_English"
    ],
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      "hynde",
      "hynde#Middle_English"
    ],
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      "hind",
      "hind#Old_English"
    ],
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    ],
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      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/hindō"
    ],
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      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/hindiz"
    ],
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      "*ḱem-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/ḱem-"
    ],
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        "A doe (female deer), especially a red deer at least two years old.",
        "A spotted food fish of the genus Epinephelus."
      ],
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        "countable",
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Source etymology 3

Original entry ↗
noun

A servant, especially an agricultural labourer.

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

From Middle English hynd, hine, from Old English hī(ġ)na, genitive plural of hīġa (“servant, family member”), in the phrase hīna fæder ‘paterfamilias’. The -d is a later addition (compare sound). Compare Old Frisian hinde (“servant”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

  • Inherited-form mentionhyndenm
  • Derivation mentionhignaang
  • Cognate mentionhindeofs
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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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 hind →

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-aGluZA