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King

3 stages from Proto-Germanic to English.

Today it means the male ruler of a kingdom

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

kuningaz→cyning→king

Proto-Germanic · ancient

from 'kunją', kin: the leader of a family or people; Finnish borrowed it very early as 'kuningas'

Old English · 700s-1000s

Alfred the Great styled himself king of the Anglo-Saxons in the 880s

English · 1500s

contracted from 'cyning' to 'king' by the 1100s

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King’s story begins in Proto-Germanic: kuningaz meant “ruler.” From 'kunją', kin: the leader of a family or people; Finnish borrowed it very early as 'kuningas'. By 700s-1000s, the word had taken hold in Old English as cyning. Alfred the Great styled himself king of the Anglo-Saxons in the 880s. It reached English by 1500s as king. Contracted from 'cyning' to 'king' by the 1100s. Today, king means the male ruler of a kingdom.