midden

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

Midden’s story begins in Old Norse: myki-dyngja meant “dung heap.” 'muck heap', from 'myki', dung, and 'dyngja', heap. By 1300s, the word had taken hold in Middle English as midding. Borrowed in the Danelaw. It reached English by 1500s as midden. Archaeologists' 'kitchen midden' translates Danish 'køkkenmødding', from 1850s studies of prehistoric shell mounds in Denmark. Today, midden means a dunghill or refuse heap.

1. Stage 1 · Old Norse · medieval myki-dyngja "dung heap", 'muck heap', from 'myki', dung, and 'dyngja', heap.
2. Stage 2 · Middle English · 1300s midding "dunghill", borrowed in the Danelaw.
3. Stage 3 · English · 1500s midden "refuse heap", archaeologists' 'kitchen midden' translates Danish 'køkkenmødding', from 1850s studies of prehistoric shell mounds in Denmark.