English word origin

Etymology of yex

From Middle English yexen, yixen, yesken, from Old English ġeocsian, ġiscian (“to hiccup”), from Proto-West Germanic *giskōn (“to yawn”), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵeys- (“gaping, cracked”). Cognate with Middle Low Germa

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 ↗

verb

To hiccup. · To belch or burp.

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

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

Inherited-form mentionyexenenm
Inherited-form mentionġeocsianang
Inherited-form mention*giskōngmw-pro
Derivation mention*ǵeys-ine-pro
Cognate mentiongischengml
Cognate mentiongeschengmh

Inspect preserved source fields

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

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  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "yexen"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English yexen"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "ġeocsian"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English ġeocsian"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gmw-pro",
        "3": "*giskōn",
        "4": "",
        "5": "to yawn"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-West Germanic *giskōn (“to yawn”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*ǵeys-",
        "4": "",
        "5": "gaping, cracked"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *ǵeys- (“gaping, cracked”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "gml",
        "2": "gischen",
        "3": "",
        "4": "to sob, sigh"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle Low German gischen (“to sob, sigh”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "gmh",
        "2": "geschen"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle High German geschen"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "yexen",
      "yexen#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "yixen",
      "yixen#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "yesken",
      "yesken#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "ġeocsian",
      "geocsian#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "ġiscian",
      "giscian#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "*giskōn",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/giskōn"
    ],
    [
      "*ǵeys-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/ǵeys-"
    ],
    [
      "gischen",
      "gischen#Middle_Low_German"
    ],
    [
      "geschen",
      "geschen#Middle_High_German"
    ],
    [
      "gischen",
      "gischen#Middle_High_German"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "To hiccup.",
        "To belch or burp."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "archaic",
        "intransitive"
      ],
      "recordId": "7e3d36828f7ada6357b850296df525ec73a36aa904309a282a34a08abdb2c5c1",
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    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
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}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗

noun

A hiccup.

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

From Middle English ȝeoxe, ȝoxe, from Old English ġeoxa, ġeocsa, ġihsa (“hiccup; sobbing”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

Inherited-form mentionȝeoxeenm
Inherited-form mentionġeoxaang

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": "ȝeoxe"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English ȝeoxe"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "ġeoxa"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English ġeoxa"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "ȝeoxe",
      "ȝeoxe#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "ȝoxe",
      "ȝoxe#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "ġeoxa",
      "geoxa#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "ġeocsa",
      "geocsa#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "ġihsa",
      "gihsa#Old_English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A hiccup."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "archaic",
        "dialectal"
      ],
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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 yex →

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-eWV4