medu (Old English)
Where does "medu" come from?
The Old English noun 'medu', meaning 'mead', descends from Proto-West Germanic '*medu' and Proto-Germanic '*meduz'[1][3][4]. These forms trace back to Proto-Indo-European '*médʰu', which meant 'sweet drink'[1].
Open questions
- The Proto-Indo-European form may be related to Proto-Semitic '*matḳ-', with one suggestion being a borrowing through Proto-Northeast Caucasian '*miʒʒV'. [2]
Full etymology tree
- medu (Old English), 'mead'
- inherited *medu (Proto-West Germanic), 'mead'
- inherited *meduz (Proto-Germanic), 'intoxicating drink'
- inherited *médʰu (Proto-Indo-European), 'honey'
- inherited *meduz (Proto-Germanic), 'intoxicating drink'
- inherited *medu (Proto-West Germanic), 'mead'
Ancestors
- *medu (Proto-West Germanic)
- *meduz (Proto-Germanic)
- *médʰu (Proto-Indo-European)
Descendants and derived words
- mede (Middle English)
- mede (Middle English)
- mede (Middle English)
- mede (Middle English)
- methe (Middle English)
- meduærn (Old English)
- meduheall (Old English)
- medusetl (Old English)
- meduwyrt (Old English)
Sources
- medu (Old English) - Wiktionary
- médʰu (Proto-Indo-European) - Wiktionary
- meduz (Proto-Germanic) - Wiktionary
- medu (Proto-West Germanic) - Wiktionary
Updated August 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris