rug

Where does the word "rug" come from? It comes from Old Norse rogg, and was adopted directly into English (1500s).

Rug’s story begins in Old Norse: rogg meant “a tuft, shaggy hair.” A tuft, shaggy hair, related to a coarse woven coverlet. It reached English by 1500s as rug. Settled as the English word for a coarse woven floor covering. Today, rug means a piece of thick woven material used as a floor covering.

1. Stage 1 · Old Norse · medieval rogg "a tuft, shaggy hair", a tuft, shaggy hair, related to a coarse woven coverlet.
2. Stage 2 · English · 1500s rug "a floor covering made of thick woven material", settled as the English word for a coarse woven floor covering.