hot

The story

1. Proto-Indo-European*keHy-
2. Proto-Indo-European*dʰeh₁-
3. Proto-Indo-European*kéHidʰeti
4. Proto-Indo-European*kéHidos
5. Proto-Germanic*haitaz
6. Proto-West Germanic*hait
7. Old Englishhāt
8. Middle Englishhot
9. English todayhot

From Middle English hot, hoot, from Old English hāt (“hot”), from Proto-West Germanic *hait, from Proto-Germanic *haitaz (“hot”), from Proto-Indo-European *keHy- (“to heat; to become hot”). Cognates Cognate with Yola hoat, hoate, hote (“hot”), West Frisian hjit, hyt (“hot”), Bavarian hoaß (“hot”), Central Franconian heeß (“hot”), Dutch heet (“hot”), German heiss, heiß, heyß (“hot”), Vilamovian haas, haes, hȧś, hǡs (“hot”), Yiddish הייס (heys, “hot”), Danish hed (“hot”), Faroese and Icelandic heitur (“hot”), Norwegian Bokmål and Swedish het (“hot”); also Lithuanian kaitra (“heat”). Related to heat. Superseded non-native Middle English chaud, from Old French chaut (“hot”); and early Modern English calent, from Latin calēns (“hot”).

Words from the same roots

First known use, by meaning

• from the 20th c. Radioactive.
• from the 19th c. Very good, remarkable, exciting.
• from the 20th c. Stolen.