eye
/aɪ/
noun
Origin
Proto-Indo-European
*h₃ekʷ- — to see
Overview
Meaning Now
- the organ of sight
- the faculty of sight; vision or perception
- a circular or hole-like feature, such as the centre of a storm
Language path
Proto-Indo-European → Proto-Germanic → Old English → English
Earliest form
ēage
Earliest period
Old English period
Journey
The word descends directly from the Proto-Indo-European root *h₃ekʷ-, which is exceptionally stable across Indo-European languages (cf. Latin 'oculus', Greek 'ophthalmos'). It has maintained its core meaning of the visual organ for thousands of years.
Evolution
- Proto-Indo-European
*h₃ókʷ-s
“eye”
- Proto-Germanic
*augô
“eye”
- Old English
ēage
“eye”
- Middle English
eie, eye
“eye”
Connections
Word parts
eye
root
eye
Related across languages
German
Auge
eye
Latin
oculus
eye
Greek
ophthalmos
eye
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External references use DefinedTerm semantics.