English word origin

Etymology of naked

From Middle English naked, from Old English nacod, from Proto-West Germanic *nak(k)wad, from Proto-Germanic *nakwadaz, from Proto-Indo-European *negʷ- (“naked”). Doublet of nude (remotely).

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.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗

adj

Bare, not covered by clothing. · Lacking some clothing; clothed only in underwear. · Unadorned, without decoration or circumlocution; put bluntly. · Involving naked people.

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

From Middle English naked, from Old English nacod, from Proto-West Germanic *nak(k)wad, from Proto-Germanic *nakwadaz, from Proto-Indo-European *negʷ- (“naked”). Doublet of nude (remotely).

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

Root classification mention*negʷ-ine-pro
Inherited-form mentionnakedenm
Inherited-form mentionnacodang
Inherited-form mention*nak(k)wadgmw-pro
Inherited-form mention*nakwadazgem-pro
Derivation mention*negʷ-ine-pro · naked
Doublet mentionnudeen

This page abbreviates 14 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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        "3": "*negʷ-"
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    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "naked"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English naked"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
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        "2": "ang",
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      "expansion": "Old English nacod"
    },
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      "expansion": "Proto-West Germanic *nak(k)wad"
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      "args": {
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        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*negʷ-",
        "t": "naked"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *negʷ- (“naked”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "doublet",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "nude"
      },
      "expansion": "Doublet of nude"
    }
  ],
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      "naked#Middle_English"
    ],
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      "nacod#Old_English"
    ],
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      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/nak(k)wad"
    ],
    [
      "*nakwadaz",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/nakwadaz"
    ],
    [
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      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/negʷ-"
    ],
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      "nude",
      "nude#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "adj",
      "glosses": [
        "Bare, not covered by clothing.",
        "Lacking some clothing; clothed only in underwear.",
        "Unadorned, without decoration or circumlocution; put bluntly.",
        "Involving naked people."
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  }
}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗

verb

simple past and past participle of nake

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

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Inspect preserved source fields

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

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        "simple past and past participle of nake"
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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 naked →

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-bmFrZWQ