early 13c., hachen, "to produce young from eggs by incubation," probably from an unrecorded Old English *hæccan, of unknown origin, related to Middle High German, German hecken "to mate" (used of birds). Meaning "to come forth from an egg," also "cause to come forth from an egg" are late 14c. Figurative use (of plots, etc.) is from early 14c. Related: Hatched; hatching.
Proto-Indo-European root meaning "bird." It also might be the source of *woyo, *oyyo, Proto-Indo-European words for "egg."
It forms all or part of: auspex; auspices; auspicious; avian; aviary; aviation; aviator; avicide; aviculture; aviform; caviar; cockney; egg (n.); ocarina; oo-; oocyte; oolite; oology; osprey; ostrich; oval; ovary; ovate (adj.); oviform; oviparous; ovoviviparous; ovoid; ovulate; ovulation; ovule; ovum.
It is the hypothetical source of/evidence for its existence is provided by: Sanskrit vih, Avestan vish, Latin avis "bird;" Greek aietos "eagle;" Old Church Slavonic aja, Russian jajco, Breton ui, Welsh wy, Greek ōon, Latin ovum, Old Norse egg, Old High German ei, Gothic ada all meaning "egg."
"resembling or of the nature of a hard tumor," 1560s, from French scirrheux (16c., Modern French squirreux), from Modern Latin scirrhosus, from Latin scirros "a hard swelling, tumor," from Greek skirrhos "hard tumor, callus; hard, scrubby ground," related to skiros (adj.) "hard;" a word of unknown origin. Scirrhus "a hard tumor" is attested from c. 1600.
of eggs, "cooked in boiling water," mid-15c., pocched, past-participle adjective from poach (v.2).
"become putrid," hence "be spoiled, be made worthless or ineffective," 1640s (implied in addled), from archaic addle (n.) "urine, liquid filth," from Old English adela "mud, mire, liquid manure" (cognate with East Frisian adel "dung," Old Swedish adel "urine," Middle Low German adel "mud," Dutch aal "puddle").
Popularly used in the noun phrase addle egg (mid-13c.) "egg that does not hatch, rotten egg," a loan-translation of Latin ovum urinum, literally "urine egg," which is itself an erroneous loan-translation of Greek ourion ōon "putrid egg," literally "wind egg," from ourios "of the wind" (confused by Roman writers with ourios "of urine," from ouron "urine").
From this phrase, since c. 1600 the noun in English was mistaken as an adjective meaning "putrid," and thence given a figurative extension to "empty, vain, idle," also "confused, muddled, unsound" (1706), then back-formed into a verb in that sense. Related: Addling.
Popular in forming derogatory compounds 17c. and after, such as addle-headed "stupid, muddled" (1660s); addle-pated (1630s); addle-pate "stupid bungler" (c. 1600); addle-plot "spoil-sport, person who spoils any amusement" (1690s).
early 14c., kidenere, a word of unknown origin, perhaps a compound of Old English cwið "womb" (see chitterlings) + ey "egg" (see egg (n.)) in reference to the shape of the organ. Figurative sense of "temperament" is from 1550s. Kidney-bean is from 1540s, so called for its shape.
"producing eggs that are hatched outside the body of the parent" (opposed to viviparous), 1640s, from Late Latin oviparus "that produces eggs, egg-laying," from Latin ōvum "egg" (see ovum) + stem of parire "to bring forth" (from PIE root *pere- (1) "to produce, procure"). Related: Oviparity.