Where does “Great Wen” come from?
Great Wen (English) comes from English wen, from Old English wynn, from Proto-West Germanic wunnju, from Proto-Germanic wunjō, from Proto-Indo-European wn̥h₁yeh₂, from Proto-Indo-European wenh₁- — to love.
Ancestry of “Great Wen”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | wen | A cyst on the skin; a runic letter later replaced... |
| 2 | Old English | wynn | joy, delight; the runic character ᚹ; the letter... |
| 3 | Proto-West Germanic | wunnju | joy |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | wunjō | joy, delight, pleasure, lust; name of the W-rune |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | wn̥h₁yeh₂ | — |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | wenh₁- | to love |