hūs (Proto-West Germanic)

Where does "hūs" come from?

The Proto-West Germanic noun 'hūs', meaning 'house'[1], descends from the Proto-Germanic form '*hūsą'[1]. The ultimate origin of this Proto-Germanic term remains uncertain, although it is possibly derived from the Proto-Indo-European root '*(s)kewH-', meaning 'cover, hide', which suggests an original sense referring to a covered shelter[2].

Open questions

• The derivation from Proto-Indo-European and the connection to the root meaning cover or hide are uncertain possibilities. [2]

Full etymology tree

• *hūs (Proto-West Germanic), 'house'
  • inherited *hūsą (Proto-Germanic), 'house'
    • derived *(s)kuH-s-o-m (Proto-Indo-European)
      • derived *(s)kewH- (Proto-Indo-European), 'to cover, conceal, hide'

Ancestors

• *hūsą (Proto-Germanic)

Descendants and derived words

• *hūsalauk (Proto-West Germanic)

Sources

1. hūs (Proto-West Germanic) - Wiktionary
2. hūsą (Proto-Germanic) - Wiktionary

Updated August 2026

More words starting with H

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