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Etymology and origin of the English word new

Confidence
Established
Formation
Inherited
First attested
c. 725 Beowulf
Inherited from
Old English niwe via Middle English
Ultimate origin
Proto-Indo-European *néwos
Derivations

Pronunciation

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English newe, also neue,[2][3] inherited from Old English nīwe, also nēowe and nīowe,[4][5][6][7] from Proto-Germanic *niwjaz,[1][8] from Proto-Indo-European *néwos, also *néwyos.[1][9][5] Its Germanic cognates are Old Frisian nīe, Old Saxon niuwi, Old High German niuwi (modern German neu), Dutch nieuw, Old Norse nýr, Swedish ny and Gothic 𐌽𐌹𐌿𐌾𐌹𐍃 (niujis).[7][4][2][5][6] Outside Germanic the same base gave Latin novus, Ancient Greek νέος (néos), Welsh newydd, Lithuanian naujas, Old Irish núe and Hittite nēwa-, and words in Sanskrit, Tocharian and Slavic.[4][7][3][9][2] The Latin word is the source of novel and novice, and the Greek of neo-.[9] It is perhaps related to now: Barnhart suggests that new may first have meant "nowish".[4][7][6] The adverb was the Old English adjective nīwe used as an adverb,[2][4] and Old English also had a verb nīwian (“to renew”), which later fell out of use.[2][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

Not existing before, made for the first time: Old English nīwe is recorded about 725, in Beowulf, and nēowe before 830, in the Vespasian Psalter.[4] The OED's first quotation for this sense is from the Vespasian Psalter.[7]

Semantic evolution

Already in Old English the adjective meant "made or established for the first time", "fresh, recently grown", "novel, unheard-of" and "untried, inexperienced", and it was used of the moon.[2][7] The sense "novel, modern" is recorded from the mid-14th century;[2] Gower, in 1393, has go the new foot, to dance the latest style.[2] Chaucer used it for "strange, unfamiliar to someone".[7] The sense "not used to something" follows in the 1590s.[2] From about 1500 New was put before the name of a place to name another place after it.[2] The plural noun news, for information, dates from the 15th century.[9] The Old English verb survived in Middle English as neuen, to renew, begin again or bring forth, but it fell out of use.[2][7]

Timeline

  • c. 725 – not existing before; made for the first time.[4][7]
  • Old English – adverb, newly, recently.[7][4]
  • Old English – verb, to renew (obsolete after 1569).[7][2]
  • late Old English – of the moon.[2]
  • c. 1325 – additional, further.[7]
  • mid-14th century – novel, modern.[2]
  • late 14th century – New Testament.[2]
  • before 1425 – strange, unfamiliar, in Chaucer's Troilus and Criseyde.[7]
  • c. 1500 – in the names of places named after another place.[2]
  • 1590s – not used to something; unaccustomed.[2]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Recently made, built or begun: a new bridge.[10][6]
  2. Of a kind not known before; novel: a new method of treatment.[10][7]
  3. Existing before but only recently found or learned of: a new species of frog.[10][7]
  4. Not used or owned before; not second-hand: a new bicycle.[10]
  5. Different from or replacing the earlier one: her new address.[7][10]
  6. Recently arrived in a place or position; inexperienced (often with to): He is new to the job.[10][2]
  7. Starting again; renewed: a new start.[7]

Adverb

  1. Newly, recently, usually in compounds: new-laid eggs.[6][7]

Noun

  1. Something new; newness.[6][2]

Word family

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  5. ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  8. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling
  9. ^ a b c d Ayto, John (2005), Word Origins: The Secret Histories of English Words from A to Z, 2nd ed., London: A & C Black
  10. ^ a b c d e f Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins

Derived terms

Related etymologies

  • southern · also from Old English
  • bottom · also from Old English
  • worry · also from Old English
  • lie · also from Old English
  • sad · also from Old English
  • northern · also from Old English
  • worst · also from Old English
  • wonder · also from Old English
Cite this entry

“New.” Etymologically, 2 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/en/new. Accessed 2 Nov. 2026.

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