NODE / 0133reconstructedProto-Germanic
*mūs
mouse
- DATE
- Proto-Germanic prehistory
- SENSE
- animal
- FAMILY
- Indo-European / Germanic
- CANONICAL KEY
- node:5:mus:reconstructed:sense:animal
Reconstructed Germanic ancestor of Old English mūs and continental cognates.
*This form is reconstructed by comparison. It is not directly attested in this exact written form.
01ANCESTRAL EDGES
ROOT OF THIS ROOT
02DIRECT DESCENDANT EDGES
THE NEXT HISTORICAL STEP
DESCENDANTinheritanceprobable
Old English · Old English · animalmūs
mouse
- SOUND
- Old English mūs continues reconstructed Proto-Germanic *mūs, with cognates including German Maus and Dutch muis.
- MEANING
- The rodent meaning remained stable across the Germanic branch.
- SCHOLAR
- American Heritage Indo-European Roots · University of Texas LRC
- CONFIDENCE
- probable — Proto-Germanic *mūs is reconstructed from the attested Germanic forms.
03TRANSITIVE DESCENDANT CLOSURE
EVERY REVIEWED BRANCH FROM HERE
This is the complete downstream closure currently supported by the canonical graph. Every displayed step is a real reviewed edge with its own sound claim, meaning claim, scholar, confidence, and citations.
- UNIQUE DESCENDANT NODES
- 3
- REVIEWED EDGES
- 3
- DEEPEST PATH
- 3
- MODERN DOSSIERS REACHED
- 1
HISTORICAL STEP 011 EDGE
STEP 01inheritanceprobable
- SOUND
- Old English mūs continues reconstructed Proto-Germanic *mūs, with cognates including German Maus and Dutch muis.
- MEANING
- The rodent meaning remained stable across the Germanic branch.
American Heritage Indo-European Roots · University of Texas LRC3 CITATIONSEDGE 116 ↗ HISTORICAL STEP 021 EDGE
STEP 02inheritanceestablished
- SOUND
- Middle English mous continues Old English mūs.
- MEANING
- The inherited word retained the meaning “mouse.”
Merriam-Webster · American Heritage editors2 CITATIONSEDGE 115 ↗ HISTORICAL STEP 031 EDGE
STEP 03continuationestablished
- SOUND
- Middle English mous developed into modern mouse with the later spelling convention marking the diphthong.
- MEANING
- The central rodent meaning remained stable while transferred senses accumulated.
Merriam-Webster · American Heritage editors2 CITATIONSEDGE 114 ↗ “Every” means every descendant in the reviewed SET-U graph. It does not convert missing scholarship or missing ingestion into a claim of historical completeness. The coverage ledger remains the honest denominator.
04RECORDED EVIDENCE
ATTESTATIONS / FIRST KNOWN USE
NO RECORDED WITNESS ATTACHED.That is expected for a reconstructed form: the node is inferred from comparison, not quoted from a surviving occurrence.
05EDITORIAL REUSE
WORD DOSSIERS USING THIS NODE