give
To transfer possession of something to someone without payment.
Etymology
From Old English giefan, from Proto-Germanic *gebaną, from PIE *gʰebʰ- "to give, to take" (the root had both meanings in different branches). The broader PIE concept of giving centres on *deh₃- "to give, to bestow," which gives English "donate," "data" (things given), "dose," "antidote," and "pardon" — but English "give" itself descends from *gʰebʰ-, not *deh₃-.
The Journey: *gʰebʰ- → give
*deh₃-
dare (to give)
doner
donate
Cognates Across Languages
These words in other languages descend from the same PIE root *gʰebʰ-. They are not borrowings but independent inheritances from a common ancestor.
| Language | Word |
|---|---|
| Greek | didōmi |
| Latin | dare |
| Hittite | dā- |
| Armenian | tam |
| Sanskrit | dádāti |
| Lithuanian | dúoti |
| Old Church Slavonic | dati |
Did You Know?
The word "data" literally means "things given" — the plural of Latin datum, from dare "to give," from PIE *deh₃-. When we speak of "given data," we're saying "given givens." The word "date" on a calendar also comes from this root, via Latin data (epistula) "letter given (at a time)."
This word descends from the Proto-Indo-European root *gʰebʰ-. See the full root page for descendant trees, sound law references, and scholarly discussion.