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Origin and history of udder

udder(n.)

Old English udder "milk glands of a cow, goat, etc., when large and baggy and having more than one teat," from Proto-Germanic *udr- (source also of Old Frisian uder, Middle Dutch uyder, Dutch uijer, Old High German utar, German Euter, and, with unexplained change of consonant, Old Norse jugr), from PIE *eue-dh-r "udder" (source also of Sanskrit udhar, Greek outhar, Latin uber "udder, breast," also "fruitful").

Entries linking to udder

exuberant(adj.)

mid-15c., "over-abundant," from Latin exuberantem (nominative exuberans) "superfluous; extraordinary," present participle of exuberare "be abundant, grow luxuriously," from ex, here probably "thoroughly" (see ex-), + uberare "be fruitful," related to uber "udder," from PIE root *eue-dh-r- (see udder). From 1510s as "growing luxuriantly;" figurative use, of affections, joyous emotions, etc., is by 1640s. Related: Exuberantly; exuberate; exuberating.

urine(n.)

"waste product of the digestive system normally discharged from the bladder," also as a diagnostic tool in medicine and an ingredient in household preparations, c. 1300, from Old French orine, urine (12c.) and directly from Latin urina "urine," from PIE *ur-, which is regarded as the source also of Greek ouron "urine." It is held to be a variant of root *we-r- "water, liquid, milk" (source also of Sanskrit var "water," Avestan var "rain," Lithuanian jūrės "sea," Old English wær, Old Norse ver "sea," Old Norse ur "drizzling rain"), which is related to *eue-dh-r (see udder).

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    Trends of udder

    adapted from books.google.com/ngrams/ with a 7-year moving average; ngrams are probably unreliable.

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    bag
    "small sack," c. 1200, bagge, probably from Old Norse baggi "pack, bundle," or a similar Scandinavian source. OED rejects connection to other Germanic words for "bellows, belly" as without evidence and finds a Celtic origin untenable. In some senses perhaps from Old French bague,
    promulgate
    In that case the word is "a picturesque farmers' term used originally of squeezing the milk from the udder" [L.R....
    manatee
    inhabit brackish waters in Florida and the West Indies, 1550s, from Spanish manatí (1530s), from Carib manati "breast, udder...
    wee
    "extremely small," mid-15c., from earlier noun use in sense of "quantity, amount" (such as a littel wei "a little thing or amount," c. 1300), from Old English wæge "weight, unit of weight," from Proto-Germanic *wego, from PIE root *wegh- "to go, move, transport in a vehicle." The
    ewe
    Old English eowu "female sheep," fem. of eow "sheep," from Proto-Germanic *awi, genitive *awjoz (source also of Old Saxon ewi, Old Frisian ei, Middle Dutch ooge, Dutch ooi, Old High German ouwi "sheep," Gothic aweþi "flock of sheep"), from PIE *owi- "sheep" (source also of Sanskr
    nanny
    "children's nurse," 1795, from the widespread child's word for "female adult other than mother" (compare Greek nanna "aunt," and see nana). The word also is a nickname form of the fem. proper name Ann, which probably is the sense in nanny-goat "female goat" (1706, compare billy-g
    gab
    "talk much," 1786, probably via Scottish and northern England dialect from earlier sense "speak foolishly; talk indiscreetly" (late 14c.), from gabben "to scoff, jeer; mock (someone), ridicule; reproach (oneself)," also "to lie to" (late 13c.), from a Scandinavian source, such as
    cow
    "female of a bovine animal," especially the domestic ox, Middle English cu, qu, kowh, from Old English cu "cow," from Proto-Germanic *kwon (source also of Old Frisian ku, Middle Dutch coe, Dutch koe, Old High German kuo, German Kuh, Old Norse kyr, Danish, Swedish ko), earlier *kw
    mamma
    "mother," a word used especially by children and infants, 1570s, representing the native form of the reduplication of *ma- that is nearly universal among the Indo-European languages (Greek mamme "mother, grandmother," Latin mamma, Persian mama, Russian and Lithuanian mama "mother
    sandwich
    1762, said to be a reference to John Montagu (1718-1792), 4th Earl of Sandwich, who was said to be an inveterate gambler who ate slices of cold meat between bread at the gaming table during marathon sessions rather than rising for a proper meal (this account of the origin dates t

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    Dictionary entries near udder
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