new (English)

Where does "new" come from?

The word 'new' traces its roots back to the ancient Proto-Indo-European term *néwyos, which carried the same meaning of recent origin. It evolved through Proto-Germanic and Old English as 'nīewe' before stabilizing into the Middle English 'newe' and eventually becoming the modern English 'new'. This linguistic lineage is remarkably widespread, sharing common ancestral ties with words in many other languages, including the Latin 'novus', the Ancient Greek 'néos', and the Russian 'nóvyj'.

Full etymology tree

• new (English), 'Newborn.'
  • inherited newe (Middle English), 'new'
    • inherited nīewe (Old English), 'new'
      • inherited *niwi (Proto-West Germanic), 'new'
        • inherited *niwjaz (Proto-Germanic), 'new'
          • derived *néwyos (Proto-Indo-European), 'alternative form of *néwos'
            • derived *néwos (Proto-Indo-European), 'new'
              • derived *nu (Proto-Indo-European), 'now'

Direct ancestors

• newe (Middle English)
• niewe (Old English)
• niwi (Proto-West Germanic)
• niwjaz (Proto-Germanic)
• néwyos (Proto-Indo-European)
• nu (Old English)
• nuevo (English)
• novuss (English)

Updated July 2026

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