Etymology

cough

C3O1U1G2H4

Today it means: Sometimes followed by up: to force (something) out of the lungs or throat by pushing air from the lungs through the glottis (causing a short, explosive sound), and out through the mouth. Full definition →

Middle English coughen ← Old English *cohhian ← Proto-West Germanic *kuh-
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cough · verb1

  1. Proto-West Germanic · derived from*kuh-“to cough”
  2. Old English · inherited from*cohhian
  3. Middle English · inherited fromcoughen
  4. English todaycough

From Middle English coughen, coghen (“to cough; to vomit”) [and other forms], from Old English *cohhian (compare Old English cohhetan (“to bluster; to riot; to cough (?)”)), from Proto-West Germanic *kuh- (“to cough”), ultimately of onomatopoeic origin. Cognates * Middle Dutch cuchen (“to cough”) (modern Dutch kuchen (“to cough”); German Low German kuchen (“to cough”)) * Middle High German kûchen (“to breathe (on); to exhale”), kîchen (“to breathe with difficulty”) (modern German keichen, keuchen (“to breathe with difficulty; to gasp, pant”)) * Spanish cof (“coughing sound”) * West Frisian kiche (“to cough”), kochelje (“to cough persistently”)

cough · noun, interjection2

  1. Middle English · inherited fromcough“a cough; illness causing coughing”
  2. English todaycough

The noun is derived from Middle English cough (“a cough; illness causing coughing”) [and other forms], from coughen (verb): see etymology 1. The interjection is probably derived from the noun.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.