Etymology

hollow

H4O1L1L1O1W4

Today it means: A small valley between mountains. Full definition →

Middle English holow ← Old English holh ← Proto-West Germanic *holh
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hollow · noun, verb1

  1. Proto-Indo-European · inherited from*ḱel-“to cover, hide”
  2. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*hulaz
  3. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*hulwiją
  4. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*holh
  5. Old English · inherited fromholh“a hollow”
  6. Middle English · inherited fromholow
  7. English todayhollow

From Middle English holow, holowe, holwe, holwȝ, holgh, from Old English holh (“a hollow”), from Proto-West Germanic *holh, from Proto-Germanic *hulwiją, from Proto-Germanic *hulaz, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱel- (“to cover, hide”). Cognate with Old High German huliwa and hulwa, Middle High German hülwe. Related to hole.

hollow · adjective, adverb2

  1. Middle English · inherited fromholowe
  2. English todayhollow

From Middle English holowe, holwe, holuȝ, holgh, from the noun (see above).

hollow · verb, interjection3

Compare holler.

Words from the same roots

Old Englishholh all →

hollowayHolcombeHolroydHolfordHolwellHolkhamHolway

Proto-Germanic*hulaz all →

hulkforehold

Proto-Indo-European*ḱel- all →

cellhallhullhulkhelmlithkilimhelehalfpennyforholdculeusforeholdholk

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.