chew

chew · verb¹

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*ǵyewh₁-
2. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*kewwaną
3. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*keuwan
4. Old English · inherited fromċēowan
5. Middle English · inherited fromchewen
6. English todaychew

From Middle English chewen, from Old English ċēowan, from Proto-West Germanic *keuwan, from Proto-Germanic *kewwaną, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵyewh₁-. Cognate with West Frisian kôgje, Low German käwwen, Dutch kauwen, German kauen; also Latin gingīva (“gums”), Tocharian B śuwaṃ (“to eat”), Polish żuć (“to chew”), Persian جویدن (javidan), Pashto ژُوَل (žovạl, “to bite, gnaw”).

chew · noun²

1. Proto-Germanic · derived from*kewwaną“to chew”
2. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*kauw
3. Old English · inherited from*ċēaw
4. Middle English · inherited fromchew
5. English todaychew

From Middle English chew, cheu, icheu, from Old English *ċēaw, *ġeċēaw (“chewing”), from Proto-West Germanic *kauw, *gakauw (“chewing”), from Proto-Germanic *kewwaną (“to chew”). Cognate with obsolete Dutch kauw (“chewing”), Dutch gekauw (“chewing”), West Frisian gekau (“chewing”).

Chew · proper noun³

1. Old English · derived from*cēo“gill”
2. Middle English · derived fromcho
3. English todayChew

* As an English surname, Chew has a number of separate origins: ** A toponymic surname referring to a place in Billington, Lancashire. It was originally spelled Cho, from Middle English cho, which is possibly a descendant of Old English *cēo (“gill”), denoting a ravine. ** A toponymic surname referring to Chew Magna or Chew Stoke in Somerset, England. ** A nickname from Old English ċīo, ċēo, which refers to smaller chattering species of crow, in particular the red-billed chough. * As a Chinese surname, borrowed from Hokkien 周 (Chiu), Teochew 周 (ziu1), Cantonese 趙／赵 (ziu6), etc.

Words from the same roots