Gauts
/ɡaʊts/noun
An English historical name for the Gautar or Geats, the Germanic people associated with southern Scandinavia and the hero Beowulf.
Did you know?Gautr was also an epithet of Odin in Old Norse tradition, although the exact relationship between Odin’s name and the Gauts’ ethnonym remains debated.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*ǵʰewH-
“A reconstructed root meaning “to pour” or “to shed,” traditionally connected with the Germanic tribal name.”
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*Gautōz
“A reconstructed ethnonym, probably associated with the Gautar; its precise derivation is uncertain.”
Old Norse
Old Norse
Gautar
“The Gautar, a Scandinavian people identified with the Geats.”
Old English
Old English
Gēatas
“The Geats, the people of the hero Beowulf and his king Hygelac.”
Medieval English
English
Gauts
“An English historical plural referring to the Gautar or Geats.”
Modern English
English
Gauts
“A scholarly or historical name for the ancient Geatish people.”