ooze

ooze · noun, verb¹

1. Old English · inherited fromwōsan
2. Middle English · inherited fromwosen
3. Proto-Indo-European · inherited from*wóseh₂“sap”
4. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*wōsą
5. Old English · inherited fromwōs“sap, froth”
6. Middle English · inherited fromwose“sap”
7. English todayooze

* (Noun) Middle English wose (“sap”), from Old English wōs (“sap, froth”), from Proto-Germanic *wōsą, from Proto-Indo-European *wóseh₂ (“sap”) (cf. Sanskrit वसा (vásā, “fat”)). Cognate to Middle Low German wose (“scum”), Old High German wasal (“rain”), Old Swedish os, oos, ooss, Swedish os. Compare Old Swedish os, oos, Swedish os, Danish os, Norwegian os (“fumes, vapors, reeking, fug”). * (Verb) Middle English wosen, from Old English wōsan; see above. Compare Swedish osa (“ooze”).

ooze · noun²

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*weys-“to flow”
2. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*waisǭ
3. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*waisā
4. Old English · inherited fromwāse“mud, mire”
5. Middle English · inherited fromwose
6. English todayooze

From Middle English wose, from Old English wāse (“mud, mire”), from Proto-West Germanic *waisā, from Proto-Germanic *waisǭ (compare Dutch waas (“haze, mist; bloom”), (obsolete) German Wasen (“turf, sod”), Old Norse veisa (“slime, stagnant pool”)), from Proto-Indo-European *weys- (“to flow”) (compare Sanskrit विष्यति (viṣyati, “flow, let loose”)). Compare also Saterland Frisian öäzje (“to smear”). More at virus.

Words from the same roots