Etymology Map
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Eat

3 stages from Proto-Germanic to English.

Today it means to put food into the mouth and swallow it

Where does the word "eat" come from? It comes from Proto-Germanic etaną, passing through Old English before entering English (1500s).

1
Stage 1 of 3
etaną
Proto-Germanic · ancient
"to eat"
cognate with Latin 'edere', as in 'edible'
2
Stage 2 of 3
etan
Old English · 700s-1000s
"to eat"
an animal's eating was 'fretan', to devour, which became 'fret'
3
Stage 3 of 3
eat
English · 1500s
"to eat"
its past tense 'ate' is still pronounced 'et' in much of Britain
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Read the full story

Eat’s story begins in Proto-Germanic: etaną meant “to eat.” Cognate with Latin 'edere', as in 'edible'. By 700s-1000s, the word had taken hold in Old English as etan. An animal's eating was 'fretan', to devour, which became 'fret'. It reached English by 1500s as eat. Its past tense 'ate' is still pronounced 'et' in much of Britain. Today, eat means to put food into the mouth and swallow it.