Where does “World Wide Web” come from?
World Wide Web (English) comes from English worldwide, from English World, from Middle English world, from Old English weorold, from Proto-West Germanic weraldi, from Proto-Germanic weraldiz, from Proto-Germanic weraz, from Proto-Indo-European wiHrós — to chase, pursue; to suppress, persecute.
World Wide Web (English): Usually preceded by the: all of the hypertext documents (web pages) on the Internet collectively, which are (1) stored in various inter-hyperlinked computers around the world, and (2) retrieved typically by means of the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) or (currently more often) its secure version
Definitions
- Usually preceded by the: all of the hypertext documents (web pages) on the Internet collectively, which are (1) stored in various inter-hyperlinked computers around the world, and (2) retrieved typically by means of the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) or (currently more often) its secure version
Ancestry of “World Wide Web”, step by step
World Wide Web traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English worldwide
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | worldwide | Spanning the world; global; Throughout the world |
| 2 | English | World | The specific world, or any of several specific constituent worlds, that humans live in, among any other (real or possible) worlds |
| 3 | Middle English | world | The world, the planet; A dimension, realm, or... |
| 4 | Old English | weorold | world |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | weraldi | world |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | weraldiz | lifetime, worldly existence; mankind; world |
| 7 | Proto-Germanic | weraz | man; husband |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | wiHrós | man; husband; warrior, hero |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | weyh₁- | to chase, pursue; to suppress, persecute |