What's the Earliest English Word? 

Gægogæ is actually the Old English word for Google.

Teacher: the test isn't hard The test: þis syndon þa domas þe Æđelbirht cyning asette on Agustinus dæge

If only for ironic reasons, I love the idea that the earliest English word is "English".

gaegogae ? As a german guy I was instantly thinking this could just mean "given as" because it reminds me of "gegeben" (if the stress is on the "go" sylable) "Given as a reward..." would make a lot of sense.

The first English phrase was "Those damm Frenchmen"

As a native swedish speaker, it is always astounding how much one can understand from old english! I could understand at least 50% of the words in the examples, I wonder if german/danish/dutch speakers experience the same? Great video, keep them coming! :D

I like "fisc". I guess "chips" had to wait for Columbus!

I'm voting Anglii not because I necessarily think it's right, but because I think it's the cutest answer, and I love when things work out like that.

þis might be my favorite video of yours so far. Keep 'em coming!

"holy father jokes are worse than dad jokes" but they are dad jokes

I'm voting for "this", because it's unchanged from it's modern equivalent, just spelt using Old English letters/sounds. The others are unrecognizable in comparison.

The connection between the words Anglo and angle just blew my mind haha, that is incredibly interesting that the geography of the Anglo-Saxons homeland is related the term angles and anglers and such.

Im so happy that puns are baked into english from its inception lol

I'd go with fisc, only because it would be funny for the word "fish" to be that significant.

I was shocked when I heard the angle part. “Angel” also means something along the lines of hook in Dutch. Interesting stuff

I'm going to go with þis or fisc, since they are still in use today. þis still sounds the same and you can almost say it is still spelled the same.

I'm sure breaking bread with Pope Gregory must've been a hoot.

I'd say Anglii since people would refer to themselves, their language they spoke, their culture as what they are. And I like that knowing the exact tiny region and etymology of hook or Angeln it's so specific. It has a bit of wistfulness as if that's where you're grandparents or great-grandparents were born.

more interesting: a. oldest surviving word still used b. oldest surviving word still commonly used

In a twist of irony it seems to be Anglii. It's cool how ankle, angler and Angle are related, and perhaps Fisc may be right up there, both related to the sea.

Brilliant pronunciation overall, a nice surprise. But typically the letter y is held to be pronounced more like a ü in germanic languages.

I would assume it would be identifiers, such as " I", "you", " we", "they", etc. Kind of hard to create a whole language if you don't have anything to identify immediate self and others with.

This study of early English made me go gaga.

Interestingly, in Lancashire the word "cuwel" or "cowell" survived into the 20th century and referred to a boat. Usually this would be a large boat but not a ship. I only know of it being used by a few old people of my grandfather's generation (born in the 1880s) in Lancaster, Lancashire. Whether or not it truly was a survivor from Anglo Saxon times or a more recently coined localised word I cannot say.

I think that "cyulis" is the one since "dis", "fisc" and "raihan" are Germanic words that are still present and quite same-pronounced in languages such as German while "gaegogae" has no Modern English related word and may be more of a chant or onomathopeia rather than a real word itself

"This" or "fish" seems more likely to be the first words of English.

Hi Alliterative. I'm a Danish subscriber to your blog. I've heard a somewhat different etymology for the peninsula of Angeln/Angel that seems to be prevalent among scholars here. Maybe It will interest you. It is assumed that it was originally a name for the inlet between Angeln/Angel and Schwansen/Svans which links the town of Schleswig/Slesvig (and earlier, Haithabu/Hedeby) with the Baltic. In historical times its name has been Schlei/Slien. It seems to be a common process in toponymy that names of inlets are transferred to the surrounding stretches of land (so there are precedents for it), and it is assumed that it is also the case here because the ang- root can also mean "crooked" or "narrow" (cf. German eng meaning "narrow") which fits well with the Schlei/Slien inlet. The reason why I write the place names in both German and Danish is that the area used to be Danish-speaking. The Jutes and the Angles merged with other tribes to form the Danes. Much later, in the early 19th century, the language shifted to German and after a couple of wars and a referendum the area is in Germany today. However, as a bit of a toponymist myself I prefer the original names where the etymology is clearer. It's not a case of irredentism in my case - in fact, part of my family belonged to the German minority just north of the present border. A great uncle of mine even emigrated from there to Canada so he avoided serving in the Danish military - which causes me to have relatives in Manitoba today. His brother was even a toponymist and wrote an interesting dissertation about the language shift.

By your own admission, I think 'angle' is the frontrunner, and could also be called the oldest surviving English word.

I'm unmoved by the notion of the "first" word on the oldest inscription, because that is in no way suggestive of the earliest origin for the word. Anglii at least seems to have a shot, but frankly drawing hard lines between languages seems like an impossible task.

I used to speak old English like you but then I took an arrow to the knee.

I've read BEOWULF in the original older English and i've looked around and I think the word that looks like "ph" tha has to be one of the older words. Beowulf, is a creepy read in any language. Isn't it interesting how Pennywise has a similar background to Grendel??? just some thoughts.

1:10 This may seem a bit weird but Kent is actually an area where Jutes settled rather than Angles and Saxons but I know what you mean.

I like "fisc" since it is recognizable still today. Granted they meant "whale" rather than "fish" but back in those days anything that swam full time in the ocean was probably considered a "fish" anyway.

I would have to vote Anglii. Great video. Plus I always find it interesting to hear the Old and Middle English spoken and translated like you did.

+Alliterative The problem that you fail to acknowledge is that when the Angles, Saxons, Jutes and Frisians came to the British Isles, they were speaking West Germanic, so what does this mean? Surely whatever words survived from West Germanic into the modern English are the earliest English words?

I vote for Anglii. It is a description of the people and its the root for words that have to do with not only origins but culture as well (ankle bones game). And the Romans occupied the future British Isles for a long time and were very good at record keeping. They described the tribes around them. It might not be the best reasoning, but trying to find the first English word is like trying to figure out where Homo erectus gave way to Homo habilis and then Homo sapiens, then subspecies Homo sapiens sapiens. Do you start with genius Homo? Or do you make sure you get them all and say Australopithicine species were first?

fun fact: ice landic used the old english language text check google translate and set the right box of the translator and make it icelandic and then make the left box english, type in anything and you will find old english.

Gægogæ reminds me of the last three syllables in the Welsh towne of Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch, though I doubt it means “red cave” like in the city’s name...yet it gave me a flashback to it.

Lady Gægogæ was in a bad romance.

I've heard that "land" is the earliest English word that's still spelled the same as in Modern English (at least in some manuscripts).

cyulis as it is I think related to the word KEEL still in use today but originally a type of ship.

They say that English is a west Germanic language. I am an Icelander and many English words to day resonate with my language, like ''hús'' meaning ''house'', ''berserk'' in Icelandic ''berserkur'' and so on. So we are related. I am told that two thirds of the vocabulary of English to day is old Anglo-Saxon. I had no difficulty learning English at school.

As a Dane, I was a little surprised to see the letter "Æ" in this context. Much older than I expected it to be.

þis (or this as it's now written) is actually a word we use today as opposed to a root word so that would get my vote if it really was copied from the original text. Failing that i would suppose it was fish/'fisc'.

As an Englishman, i would say the 1st English word was probably either - 'beer' or 'woman'.

man you're so good.. don't fall in youtube's fast-paced trap please...too good to rush

I live in the Black Country area west of Birmingham in England. The broadest form of my local dialect as spoken in areas such as Tipton by older people still contains Germanic (Anglo Saxon) words from way back and some experts think it’s one of the oldest surviving dialects.

first word, in english? "alliterative" definitely.

Interesting fact, in Dutch the word 'angel' means the stinger of a wasp or similar insect

I reckon it might be Cyule/ceolum. It was a word the people were evidently using as noticed by an outsider. Seems appropriate if Angl does pertain to fishing.

Funny you mention Angles, Saxons, and Jutes, but not Frisians who speak the mostly closely related language to English today.

The oldest English word must be in a language that is distinctly English and not some dialect of a more widely spoken tongue. The migration period inscriptions and others are just too early so I'll go with the Franks' casket. If we choose the front panel as our text then rather than the first word, fisc, I suggest we pick the answer because to devise a riddle one must start with the solution, so the earliest known word in English is hrones, whale's.

Hard to vote really. I would say that Anglii might be a good guess, I always had thought of it as a Latin word.

1:32 "so then, is the earliest word 'this'?" found this very interesting, though it's not really the point of the video, because it's about the first _English_ word. However, i do think there's reason to believe, that the first word _ever_ was something like "this" or rather "that" (those two words not being differentiated yet). heck, maybe that proto-word even included "there". ("Over there! That thing!")

I think it's kind of difficult to say exactly when English formed as a language in its own right, because so many languages trace back to the same proto-languages. Many of them even loop back into itself. There are words that the Proto-Indo-Europeans used that are still used in the majority of modern Indian and European languages. Hell, we even worship the same gods, whether people accept that or not.

Anglii. Different topic --- gægogæ sounds like baby babble. If it means 'newborn', 'infant', or 'man's offspring', that would fit 'kinsmen reward', the images of suckling, and (given the mood of the times) weaponry.

I think it is impossible to know, but fascinating to talk about

Indo European always blows my mind. I need more videos about itttt

Oh that's His Holiness the Pope. He likes to hang out in the slave market and make puns.

I love this! I used to listen to John Ciardi on NPR, "Good words to You."

You are awesome. This is god-tier nerd content.

fascinating. instant subscription. hello from Scarborough, England :-D

Reward for relatives, first thing i think of is a medallion that states "reward for my survival, paid by my relatives" but thats just my gut instinct. Fits the bill for kinsmen reward. Better to make it home alive than being sold off as a slave or worker.

Fascinating , thank you for posting . It would be nice if the oldest word in English , was English , but perhaps asking to much ? :-)

Great stuff, very relaxing.

After hearing those war cry, I understand now why Roman thought all the hill tribe's language sounds like BarBarBarBar!!!!

It has been said English goes back to the Roman period. Yes the Angles Saxons and Jutes came to England but there was a Celtic tribe in Southern England roughly what later became Wessex called the Belgae, possibly form the near continent which could mean they spoke a similar tongue to the later Angles Saxons and Jutes thus the tongues merged seamlessly. Place names ending in Ey is a Germanic suffix meaning Island/s |THet were islands but ceased to be so before the Anglo Saxon influx. English is much older than thought

On the "gaegogae maegae medu" artifact, the first thing that struck me is that "medu" looks a lot like "medal." As in, gold/silver/bronze medals to reward outstanding performance in competitions. Maybe that's just a coincidence, I don't know.

8:24 - 9:30 CRAZIEST INSIGHT I'VE EVER HAD WHILE BINGE-WATCHING LINGUISTICS VIDEOS ON RU-vid. I'M AMAZED. THANK YOU SO MUCH.

Sorry everyone, we got our wires crossed a bit and put this out before our collab with Jabzy was ready--so the link to the 3-minute history episode about the Anglo-Saxon Invasion will be going up soon.

Perhaps the meed fact could be a remnant of paying people in their weekly beer and grain, and still reference both mead and reward/pay/compensation?

Anglii, for sure

Well after this video "subscribe" was the 1st word that came to mind. An excellent video, many thanks

Such a cool channel! I'm going with Anglii.

3:26 threw me off for a second because fhats literally just a pond in someones backyard

Runic writing sometimes drops nasals so could 'gaegogae' not simply stand for later 'gegonge'? That is a subjunctive present form of 'gegán' ~ 'gegangan', so it would mean "may (the) reward (or mead!) come upon the kinsman" or the like. That at least strikes me as more plausible than wolf howling or weird magic incantations...

Amazing. By the time we get to the Canterbury tales, the language becomes so recognizable. Great video thanks. And I’ll pick Anglii

Gaegogae sounds like over time could have developed to geegaw which would fit, but I know no background to the word.

I'm sure you've heard this before but I love your pronunciation.

Ðis is a great video. I love your linguistic hißtorie videos.

This video was incredible! The ending where it all comes together was brilliant. I love etymology but this was next-level stuff

It's always possible that when they saw the ships coming they said "Not again!"

Town, according to OED, is the oldest English word still in use in Modern English.

I’d be inclined to go with Anglii or the word for longship. They are clearly the oldest written words and the fact they are found in Latin writings does not affect their status as being Anglo Saxon words anymore than my saying “Good luck, amigo,” would make “amigo” less Spanish.

I have always loved linguistics and history of cultures.

Wow! As a swede i recognize alot of words from old english. Very cool

Pis! That's the most British word I can think of out of the list

Not that a written example likely exists, but I would argue that the first English word would have to be the earliest word that is truly distinct from any other word in closely related dialects of the Germanic of the time and area. The first new invention unique to the language that would eventually become English. Not shared by anyone else.

Thanks for making. My son's first word was "shit'. My dad always said it and he picked it up. The word is common. In Old English, I don't know what it is but it would have been said a lot. Just an idea.

It's tough, since Gaegogae would make sense, since the original words of the language would be long lost in meaning by now, so the one that is indecipherable would have the greatest chance of being the eldest. Then again, "Raihan," Germanic or not, would likely be the first regionally-accepted word to become common English language of the time. Tough!

Your videos are so fun and interesting! I'm glad I found your channel and I can't wait for the next one! Oh, and I think "cyulis" is the first English word, see Edoboss101's explanation, it seems pretty credible

Remember Hengist and Horsa! Good on you for mentioning them mate!

Well, considering that English has its origins as a Germanic language, technically speaking the earliest German word would also count as the earliest English word. So whatever the oldest surviving German text we have, the first word on it could be considered to also be the earliest English word. Either that or the first word in that text which most resembles a modern day English word. Hey, @Alliterative, ever thought of that? Would be fascinating to see how far down that rabbit hole goes.

It was probably something from PIE since language never dies before being born

The first word written/spoken identically to the modern equivalent. 'This' and 'Fish' could be contenders, but they're spelled wildly different, and I'm sure we're only estimating their pronunciation.

I don't have an opinion about what may or may not be the oldest written English word. However - speaking of the word "fish" - I feel that "fish" is possibly the most quintessentially *English* word in our language.

I'm going to go for one not given: 'and' , surely an ancient word and still doing daily duty in an essentially unchanged role in the language at present. And, you're in good shape!

I'd like to think the first English word is gaegogae simply because I live a few hundred yards away from Undley Common where the bracteate was found.

To pronounce the OE "y" make a short "i" sound like "ih" but make round your lips. So it'll sound like an ooh but also like an ih at the same time

Latin and German with a sprinkle of Greek in a blender would sound Old English.