Etymology Map
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Give

3 stages from Old Norse to English.

Today it means to freely hand something over to someone

Where does the word "give" come from? It comes from Old Norse gefa, passing through Middle English before entering English (1500s).

1
Stage 1 of 3
gefa
Old Norse · medieval
"to give"
the Norse hard-g form of a verb shared across Germanic languages
2
Stage 2 of 3
given
Middle English · 1300s
"to give"
the Norse pronunciation replaced native Old English 'giefan', which was pronounced 'yeevan' and gave dialect 'yive'
3
Stage 3 of 3
give
English · 1500s
"to hand over freely"
the hard-g northern form became standard English
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Read the full story

Give’s story begins in Old Norse: gefa meant “to give.” The Norse hard-g form of a verb shared across Germanic languages. By 1300s, the word had taken hold in Middle English as given. The Norse pronunciation replaced native Old English 'giefan', which was pronounced 'yeevan' and gave dialect 'yive'. It reached English by 1500s as give. The hard-g northern form became standard English. Today, give means to freely hand something over to someone.