Etymology

cheek

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Today it means: The soft skin on each side of the face, below the eyes; the outer surface of the sides of the oral cavity. Full definition →

Middle English cheeke ← Old English ċēce ← Proto-West Germanic *kākā
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*ǵyewh₁-“to chew”
  2. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*kēkǭ
  3. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*kākā
  4. Old English · inherited fromċēce
  5. Middle English · inherited fromcheeke
  6. English todaycheek

From Middle English cheeke, cheke, cheoke, choke, from Old English ċēce, ċēace, ċēoce (“cheek; jaw”), from Proto-West Germanic *kākā, *keukā (“jaw, cheek”), from Proto-Germanic *kēkǭ, *keukǭ (“jaw; palate; pharynx”), perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *ǵyewh₁- (“to chew”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian Sooke (“cheek”), West Frisian tsjeak (“jaw”), Dutch kaak (“jaw; cheek”), Swedish käke (“jaw; jowl”), Norwegian kjake (“jaw”), Old Norse kók (“mouth; gullet”).

Words from the same roots

Proto-Indo-European*ǵyewh₁- all →

chew

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.