eye
The organ of sight; the part of the body used for seeing.
Etymology
From Old English ēage, from Proto-Germanic *augō, from PIE *h₃ekʷ- "to see," with the nominal form *h₃okʷ- "eye." The connection between "eye" and "seeing" is transparent in PIE. The word underwent significant sound changes in Germanic but remains recognizable across the family.
The Journey: *h₃ekʷ- → eye
*h₃okʷ-
*augō
ēage
eie, yë
eye
Cognates Across Languages
These words in other languages descend from the same PIE root *h₃ekʷ-. They are not borrowings but independent inheritances from a common ancestor.
| Language | Word |
|---|---|
| Greek | ókkon (Doric), ómma |
| Latin | oculus |
| Russian | oko (archaic) |
| Armenian | akn |
| Sanskrit | ákṣi |
| Lithuanian | akìs |
Did You Know?
Latin oculus "eye" gives English "ocular" and "binoculars," while the native Germanic word "eye" descends from the same PIE root by a different phonological path.
This word descends from the Proto-Indo-European root *h₃ekʷ-. See the full root page for descendant trees, sound law references, and scholarly discussion.