EtymologyMap
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Today it means

home

the place where one lives

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

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

Home’s story begins in Proto-Germanic: haimaz meant “village, dwelling.” A village or dwelling; German 'Heim' is a cousin. By 700s-1000s, the word had taken hold in Old English as hām. Place names ending in '-ham', like Birmingham and Fulham, come from it. It reached English by 1500s as home. 'homesick' was modelled in the 1700s on German 'Heimweh'. Today, home means the place where one lives.

  1. Stage 1 · Proto-Germanic · ancient haimaz "village, dwelling", a village or dwelling; German 'Heim' is a cousin.
  2. Stage 2 · Old English · 700s-1000s hām "home, estate", place names ending in '-ham', like Birmingham and Fulham, come from it.
  3. Stage 3 · English · 1500s home "dwelling", 'homesick' was modelled in the 1700s on German 'Heimweh'.

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