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Etymology and origin of the Old English word inn

inn1 in, inwards

Confidence
Established
Formation
Inherited
First attested
833–839 will of Abba, charter S 1482
Inherited from
Proto-Germanic *inn
Ultimate origin
Proto-Germanic *inn

Pronunciation

Forms

inn[1] Also written in.[2][3]

Etymology

The adverb for motion inwards is inherited from Proto-Germanic *inn (“in, into”).[1] Wiktionary explains the Proto-Germanic adverb as *in with the *-n-* of *innai and *innanē, added as a suffix or by analogy.[1] It is Gothic 𐌹𐌽𐌽 (inn) and Old Norse inn;[4][5] Köbler sets Old Frisian inna, Old Saxon inna and Old High German inne beside it.[5] Köbler traces it to the preposition Proto-Indo-European *h₁én (“in”).[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The adverb is first recorded in the will of Abba the reeve, of 833×839, which survives as a contemporary single sheet: þonne agefe mon ten hund pending inn mid minum lice, “then let a thousand pence be given in with my body”, for his burial place.[6][7] Clark Hall notes this use of inn with verbs of giving, to point to the receiver.[8]

Semantic evolution

Toller's Supplement gives it chiefly of motion or direction, “inwards”, as in the Pastoral Care's Moyses oft eode inn & ut on ðæt templ, “Moses often went in and out of the temple”.[9][10][7] It also means “within” and is joined with on and tō for “into”.[2][8] In charter bounds it is written ing.[9]

Timeline

  • 833×839 – agefe mon ten hund pending inn in the will of Abba.[6][7]
  • s. ix med. – ne ga ðu inn in dome “do not enter into judgement” in the Vespasian Psalter gloss.[11][7]
  • 890×897 – oft eode inn & ut in the Pastoral Care.[10][7]

Meanings

Adverb

  1. in, inwards (of motion or direction).[9][5]
  2. within, inside; with on, tō: into.[2][8]

inn2 dwelling, lodging

Confidence
Probable
Formation
Derivation
First attested
900–1050 Old English Bede
Ultimate origin
Old English inne

Pronunciation

Forms

inn n[1]

Etymology

The word for a dwelling is probably from Old English inne (“inside, within”).[1][12] Köbler also sets it beside the adverb Proto-Germanic *inn (“in, into”).[5] Holthausen compares Old Norse inni (“house, dwelling”).[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The noun is first recorded in the Old English Bede, in a manuscript of the early tenth or the first half of the eleventh century: Þa eode he to his inne, þær he hine restan wolde, “then he went to his chamber, where he meant to rest”, for Latin cubiculum.[13][7][2]

Semantic evolution

Bosworth and Toller give “a dwelling, house, chamber, lodging”: in Beowulf the hero is not in the hall, because wæs oþer in, other lodging, had been given him.[2][14] The Lindisfarne gloss uses it for Latin cubiculum.[15] Clark Hall adds the quartering of soldiers.[8]

It continued as Middle English in “lodging”, and it is now English inn, a public house with lodging.[16][12]

Timeline

  • s. x in. or xi¹ – eode he to his inne in the Old English Bede.[13][7]
  • s. x³/⁴ – inn for Latin cubiculum in the Lindisfarne Gospels gloss.[17][15]
  • s. x/xi – wæs oþer in “there was other lodging” in the Beowulf manuscript.[18][14]

Meanings

Noun

  1. a dwelling, house.[2][5]
  2. a chamber, room.[2][15]
  3. a lodging; the quartering of soldiers.[2][8]

Word family

  • innian

Descendants

  • Middle English in (→ English inn)[16]
  • inne
  • in
  • innan

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Bosworth, Joseph; Toller, T. Northcote (1898), An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press; Toller, T. Northcote (1921), Supplement, p. 594
  3. ^ Fulk, R. D.; Bjork, Robert E.; Niles, John D., eds. (2008), Klaeber's Beowulf and The Fight at Finnsburg, 4th ed., Toronto: University of Toronto Press (glossary), p. s.v. inn
  4. ^ a b Holthausen, Ferdinand (1934), Altenglisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. 188
  5. ^ a b c d e f Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altenglisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. inn
  6. ^ a b The Electronic Sawyer: Online Catalogue of Anglo-Saxon Charters, revised ed. by S. E. Kelly and R. Rushforth, King's College London / University of Cambridge, esawyer.lib.cam.ac.uk, p. S 1482
  7. ^ a b c d e f g Healey, Antonette diPaolo; Price Wilkin, John; Xiang, Xin, eds. (2009), Dictionary of Old English Web Corpus, Toronto: Dictionary of Old English Project
  8. ^ a b c d e Clark Hall, J. R. (1960), A Concise Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, 4th ed., with a supplement by H. D. Meritt, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p. 205
  9. ^ a b c Bosworth, Joseph; Toller, T. Northcote (1898), An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press; Toller, T. Northcote (1921), Supplement, p. Suppl. 593
  10. ^ a b Gneuss, Helmut; Lapidge, Michael (2014), Anglo-Saxon Manuscripts: A Bibliographical Handlist of Manuscripts and Manuscript Fragments Written or Owned in England up to 1100, Toronto: University of Toronto Press, p. 499
  11. ^ Gneuss, Helmut; Lapidge, Michael (2014), Anglo-Saxon Manuscripts: A Bibliographical Handlist of Manuscripts and Manuscript Fragments Written or Owned in England up to 1100, Toronto: University of Toronto Press, p. 329
  12. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  13. ^ a b Gneuss, Helmut; Lapidge, Michael (2014), Anglo-Saxon Manuscripts: A Bibliographical Handlist of Manuscripts and Manuscript Fragments Written or Owned in England up to 1100, Toronto: University of Toronto Press, p. 531
  14. ^ a b Fulk, R. D.; Bjork, Robert E.; Niles, John D., eds. (2008), Klaeber's Beowulf and The Fight at Finnsburg, 4th ed., Toronto: University of Toronto Press (glossary), p. s.v. in
  15. ^ a b c Cook, Albert S. (1894), A Glossary of the Old Northumbrian Gospels, Halle: Niemeyer, p. s.v. inn
  16. ^ a b Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
  17. ^ Gneuss, Helmut; Lapidge, Michael (2014), Anglo-Saxon Manuscripts: A Bibliographical Handlist of Manuscripts and Manuscript Fragments Written or Owned in England up to 1100, Toronto: University of Toronto Press, p. 291
  18. ^ Gneuss, Helmut; Lapidge, Michael (2014), Anglo-Saxon Manuscripts: A Bibliographical Handlist of Manuscripts and Manuscript Fragments Written or Owned in England up to 1100, Toronto: University of Toronto Press, p. 344

Related etymologies

  • hit · also from Proto-Germanic
  • treowþ · also from Proto-Germanic
  • lim · also from Proto-Germanic
  • fær · also from Proto-Germanic
  • druncen · also from Proto-Germanic
  • burg · also from Proto-Germanic
  • clingan · also from Proto-Germanic
  • þerscan · also from Proto-Germanic
Cite this entry

“Inn.” Etymologically, 16 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/ang/inn. Accessed 16 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·