*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of oat

Inherited from Middle English ote, from Old English āte, from Proto-West Germanic *aitā, from Proto-Germanic *aitǭ (“swelling; gland; nodule”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁eyd- (“to swell”). See English atter (“poison”).

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.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗
noun

Widely cultivated cereal grass, typically Avena sativa. · Any of the numerous species, varieties, or cultivars of any of several similar grain plants in genus Avena. · The seeds of the oat, a grain, harvested as a food crop and for animal feed. · A simple musical pipe made of oat-straw.

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

Inherited from Middle English ote, from Old English āte, from Proto-West Germanic *aitā, from Proto-Germanic *aitǭ (“swelling; gland; nodule”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁eyd- (“to swell”). See English atter (“poison”). Cognates * Germanic: cognate with Scots ait (“oat”), West Frisian oat (“wild oat”), Dutch oot, aat (“wild oat”), Saterland Frisian Aate (“pea”), German Low German Aat (“oat”), obsolete Luxembourgish Otz (“oat”). Further related to Icelandic eitill (“nodule”), Norwegian Bokmål eitel (“knot, gland”), Norwegian Nynorsk eitel (“knot, gland”), Old High German eiz (“abscess”) (German Eiter (“pus”), Eiß (“ulcer”)), Dutch etter (“pus”), Saterland Frisian eitel (“fast, raging”), Old Norse eitill (“nodule”) * Indo-European: Latin aemidus (“swollen, protuberant”), Old Church Slavonic ꙗдъ (jadŭ, “poison”), Ancient Greek οἰδέω (oidéō, “to swell”), Albanian ënjt (“to swell, inflame”), Old Armenian այտնում (aytnum, “to swell”), այտ (ayt, “cheek”), Sanskrit इन्दु (índu, “water drop”)

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

  • Inherited-form mentionoteenm
  • Inherited-form mentionāteang
  • Inherited-form mention*aitāgmw-pro
  • Inherited-form mention*aitǭgem-pro · swelling; gland; nodule
  • Derivation mention*h₁eyd-ine-pro · to swell
  • Cognate mentionaitsco · oat
  • Cognate mentionoatfy · wild oat
  • Cognate mentionootnl
  • Cognate mentionAatestq · pea
  • Cognate mentionOtzlb · oat
  • Cognate mentioneitillis · nodule
  • Cognate mentioneitelnb · knot, gland
  • Cognate mentioneitelnn · knot, gland
  • Cognate mentioneizgoh · abscess
  • Cognate mentionEiterde · pus
  • Cognate mentionetternl · pus
  • Cognate mentioneitelstq · fast, raging
  • Cognate mentioneitillnon · nodule
  • Cognate mentionaemidusla · swollen, protuberant
  • Cognate mentionꙗдъcu · poison
  • Cognate mentionοἰδέωgrc · to swell
  • Cognate mentionënjtsq · to swell, inflame
  • Cognate mentionայտնումxcl · to swell
  • Cognate mentionइन्दुsa · water drop

This page abbreviates 1 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.

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      "name": "yesno",
      "args": {
        "1": "",
        "2": "i",
        "3": "I"
      },
      "expansion": "I"
    },
    {
      "name": "glossary",
      "args": {
        "1": "Inherited"
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      "expansion": "Inherited"
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    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "ote",
        "4": "",
        "5": "",
        "lit": "",
        "pos": "",
        "tr": "",
        "ts": "",
        "id": "",
        "sc": "",
        "g": "",
        "g2": "",
        "g3": "",
        "nocat": "",
        "sort": ""
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English ote"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh+",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "ote"
      },
      "expansion": "Inherited from Middle English ote"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "āte"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English āte"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gmw-pro",
        "3": "*aitā"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-West Germanic *aitā"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*aitǭ",
        "t": "swelling; gland; nodule"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *aitǭ (“swelling; gland; nodule”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*h₁eyd-",
        "t": "to swell"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *h₁eyd- (“to swell”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "col-top",
      "args": {
        "1": "1",
        "2": "Cognates"
      },
      "expansion": "Cognates"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sco",
        "2": "ait",
        "t": "oat"
      },
      "expansion": "Scots ait (“oat”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "fy",
        "2": "oat",
        "t": "wild oat"
      },
      "expansion": "West Frisian oat (“wild oat”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nl",
        "2": "oot"
      },
      "expansion": "Dutch oot"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "stq",
        "2": "Aate",
        "t": "pea"
      },
      "expansion": "Saterland Frisian Aate (“pea”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nds-de",
        "2": "Aat",
        "t": "oat"
      },
      "expansion": "German Low German Aat (“oat”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "lb",
        "2": "Otz",
        "t": "oat"
      },
      "expansion": "Luxembourgish Otz (“oat”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "is",
        "2": "eitill",
        "t": "nodule"
      },
      "expansion": "Icelandic eitill (“nodule”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nb",
        "2": "eitel",
        "t": "knot, gland"
      },
      "expansion": "Norwegian Bokmål eitel (“knot, gland”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nn",
        "2": "eitel",
        "t": "knot, gland"
      },
      "expansion": "Norwegian Nynorsk eitel (“knot, gland”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "goh",
        "2": "eiz",
        "t": "abscess"
      },
      "expansion": "Old High German eiz (“abscess”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "Eiter",
        "t": "pus"
      },
      "expansion": "German Eiter (“pus”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nl",
        "2": "etter",
        "t": "pus"
      },
      "expansion": "Dutch etter (“pus”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "stq",
        "2": "eitel",
        "t": "fast, raging"
      },
      "expansion": "Saterland Frisian eitel (“fast, raging”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "non",
        "2": "eitill",
        "t": "nodule"
      },
      "expansion": "Old Norse eitill (“nodule”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "la",
        "2": "aemidus",
        "t": "swollen, protuberant"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin aemidus (“swollen, protuberant”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "cu",
        "2": "ꙗдъ",
        "t": "poison"
      },
      "expansion": "Old Church Slavonic ꙗдъ (jadŭ, “poison”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "grc",
        "2": "οἰδέω",
        "t": "to swell"
      },
      "expansion": "Ancient Greek οἰδέω (oidéō, “to swell”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sq",
        "2": "ënjt",
        "t": "to swell, inflame"
      },
      "expansion": "Albanian ënjt (“to swell, inflame”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "xcl",
        "2": "այտնում",
        "t": "to swell"
      },
      "expansion": "Old Armenian այտնում (aytnum, “to swell”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sa",
        "2": "इन्दु",
        "tr": "índu",
        "t": "water drop"
      },
      "expansion": "Sanskrit इन्दु (índu, “water drop”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "ote",
      "ote#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "āte",
      "ate#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "*aitā",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/aitā"
    ],
    [
      "*aitǭ",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/aitǭ"
    ],
    [
      "*h₁eyd-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₁eyd-"
    ],
    [
      "atter",
      "atter#English"
    ],
    [
      "ait",
      "ait#Scots"
    ],
    [
      "oat",
      "oat#West_Frisian"
    ],
    [
      "oot",
      "oot#Dutch"
    ],
    [
      "aat",
      "aat#Dutch"
    ],
    [
      "Aate",
      "Aate#Saterland_Frisian"
    ],
    [
      "Aat",
      "Aat#Low_German"
    ],
    [
      "Otz",
      "Otz#Luxembourgish"
    ],
    [
      "eitill",
      "eitill#Icelandic"
    ],
    [
      "eitel",
      "eitel#Norwegian_Bokmål"
    ],
    [
      "eitel",
      "eitel#Norwegian_Nynorsk"
    ],
    [
      "eiz",
      "eiz#Old_High_German"
    ],
    [
      "Eiter",
      "Eiter#German"
    ],
    [
      "Eiß",
      "Eiß#German"
    ],
    [
      "etter",
      "etter#Dutch"
    ],
    [
      "eitel",
      "eitel#Saterland_Frisian"
    ],
    [
      "eitill",
      "eitill#Old_Norse"
    ],
    [
      "aemidus",
      "aemidus#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "ꙗдъ",
      "ꙗдъ#Old_Church_Slavonic"
    ],
    [
      "οἰδέω",
      "οἰδέω#Ancient_Greek"
    ],
    [
      "ënjt",
      "ënjt#Albanian"
    ],
    [
      "այտնում",
      "այտնում#Old_Armenian"
    ],
    [
      "այտ",
      "այտ#Old_Armenian"
    ],
    [
      "इन्दु",
      "इन्दु#Sanskrit"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "Widely cultivated cereal grass, typically Avena sativa.",
        "Any of the numerous species, varieties, or cultivars of any of several similar grain plants in genus Avena.",
        "The seeds of the oat, a grain, harvested as a food crop and for animal feed.",
        "A simple musical pipe made of oat-straw."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "uncountable",
        "countable",
        "usually"
      ],
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  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
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    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 1,
    "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 oat →

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-b2F0