meed

Etymology

Comes from Middle English meede, mede, which developed from Old English mēd, meord, meard, meorþ (“meed, reward, pay, price, compensation, bribe”), from Proto-West Germanic *miʀdu, from Proto-Germanic *mizdō (“meed”), from Proto-Indo-European *misdʰéh₂, from Proto-Indo-European *mey- (“to exchange”). It is cognate with obsolete Dutch miede (“wages”), Low German Meed (“rent”), German Miete (“rent”), Gothic ????? (mizdō, “meed, reward, payment, recompense”); and further with Ancient Greek μισθός (misthós, “wage”), Old Church Slavonic мьзда (mĭzda, “reward”), Sanskrit मीळ्ह (mīḷhá), Sanskrit मीढ (mīḍhá), and Avestan ????? (mīžda).