Get is Norse, and the giveaway is the hard g in front of a front vowel. Native English words with that combination softened: the Old English cousin of this verb would have given something like yet, in the same way that giefan became yiven before Norse pulled it back to give. A hard g or k before e or i — get, give, gift, kid, keg — usually means the word came from Scandinavian settlers rather than down the native line.
The English evidence is unusually clear here. Old English had the verb almost exclusively inside compounds: begietan, which survives as beget, and forgietan, which survives as forget. The simple verb was Norse geta, borrowed about 1200. Vestiges of the native form survive obliquely in gotten and in biblical begat. So English kept the compounds and imported the base word.
get (v.) c. 1200, from Old Norse geta (past tense gatum , past participle getenn ) "to obtain, reach; to be able to; to beget; to learn; to be pleased with," a word of very broad meaning, often used almost as an auxilliary verb, also frequently in phrases (such as geta rett "to guess right"). This is from Proto-Germanic *getan (source also of Old Swedish gissa "to guess," literally "to try to get"), from PIE root *ghend- "to seize, take." Old English, as well as Dutch and Frisian, had the verb almost exclusively in compounds (such as begietan , "to beget ;" forgietan "to forget "). Vestiges of an Old English cognate *gietan remain obliquely in modern past participle gotten and original past tense gat , also Biblical begat . In compound phrases with have and had it is grammatically redundant, but often usefully indicates possession, obligation, or necessity, or gives emphasis. The word and phrases built on it take up 29 columns in the OED 2nd edition; Century Dictionary lists seven distinct senses for to get up . "I GOT on Horseback within ten Minutes after I received your Letter. When I GOT to Canterbury I GOT a Chaise for Town. But I GOT wet through before I GOT to Canterbury, and I HAVE GOT such a Cold as I shall not be able to GET rid of in a Hurry. I GOT to the Treasury about Noon, but first of all I GOT shaved and drest. I soon GOT into the Secret of GETTING a Memorial before the Board, but I could not GET an Answer then, however I GOT Intelligence from the Messenger that I should most likely GET one the next Morning. As soon as I GOT back to my Inn, I GOT my Supper, and GOT to Bed, it was not long before I GOT to Sleep. When I GOT up in the Morning, I GOT my Breakfast, and then GOT myself drest, that I might GET out in Time to GET an Answer to my Memorial. As soon as I GOT it, I GOT into the Chaise, and GOT to Canterbury by three: and about Tea Time, I GOT Home. I HAVE GOT No thing particular for you, and so Adieu." [Philip Withers, "Aristarchus, or the Principles of Composition," London, 1789, illustrating the widespread use of the verb in Modern English] As a command to "go, be off" by 1864, American English. Meaning "to seize mentally, grasp" is from 1892. Get wind of "become acquainted with" is from 1840, from earlier to get wind "to get out, become known" (1722). To get drunk is from 1660s; to get religion is from 1772; to get better "recover health" is from 1776. To get ready "prepare oneself" is from 1890; to get going "begin, start doing something" is by 1869 in American English; get busy "go into action, begin operation" is from 1904. Get lost as a command to go away is by 1947. To get ahead "make progress" is from 1807. To get to (someone) "vex, fret, obsess" is by 1961, American English ( get alone as "to puzzle, trouble, annoy" is by 1867, American English). To get out of hand originally (1765) meant "to advance beyond the need for guidance;" sense of "to break free, run wild" is from 1892, from horsemanship. To get on (someone's) nerves is attested by 1970. also from c. 1200 get (n.) early 14c., "offspring, child," from get (v.) or beget . Meaning "what is got, booty" is from late 14c. also from early 14c.
get came in through Old Norse, and its spelling follows that family's conventions.
How that family writes these sounds
| hard /g/ or /k/ before e or i | plain g or k. A native word would have softened here, so the hard sound is the loanget, give, gift, kid |
What gives it away on the page
| hard g or k before e/i | Native words palatalised here — the same root gives yield, yell.get, give, gift, kid |
Old Norse in the spelling guide · guess another word's family