sugu (Old English)

Where does "sugu" come from?

The Old English noun 'sugu', meaning 'sow' or female pig, was inherited directly from Proto-West Germanic '*sugu'[1]. This term can be traced back to Proto-Germanic forms like '*sugō' or '*suwō', which originated from the Proto-Indo-European base '*suH-', meaning 'pig, hog, swine'[3]. Within Proto-Indo-European, this animal name has been tentatively linked to the verbal root '*sewH-', meaning 'to give birth', suggesting the creature was originally characterized as a mother or breeder[2].

Open questions

Linguists debate whether the internal consonant 'g' developed from a suffixed Proto-Indo-European form '*suH-kéh₂' or arose sporadically from earlier 'w' between vowels. [3]
The derivation of the Proto-Indo-European base '*suH-' from the birth-related root '*sewH-' is a tentative proposal rather than an established certainty. [2]
Possible ancient connections between the Indo-European pig root and similar words in Akkadian and Sumerian remain speculative. [2]

Full etymology tree

sugu (Old English), 'sow (female pig)'
- inherited *sugu (Proto-West Germanic), 'sow (female pig)'
  - derived *sugō (Proto-Germanic)
    - derived *suH- (Proto-Indo-European), 'pig, hog, swine'
      - derived *sewH- (Proto-Indo-European), 'to bear (a child)'
        derived *sew- (Proto-Indo-European)
  - derived *suwō (Proto-Germanic)
    - derived *suH- (Proto-Indo-European), 'pig, hog, swine'
      - derived *sewH- (Proto-Indo-European), 'to bear (a child)'
        derived *sew- (Proto-Indo-European)

Ancestors

*suH- (Proto-Indo-European)
*sugu (Proto-West Germanic)

Descendants and derived words

sowe (Middle English)
sowe (Middle English)
sowe (Middle English)

Sources

Updated October 2026

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Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris