Where does “reward” come from?
Reward comes from Middle English, from Anglo-Norman rewarder, from Old French re- combined with a root from Latin re- and Proto-Indo-European wer-, meaning to turn or regard.
reward (English): Something of value given in return for an act; A...
Definitions
- Something of value given in return for an act; A...
Ancestry of “reward”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | reward | — |
| 2 | Old French | reward | reward |
| 3 | Old French | rewarder | to reward |
| 4 | Old French | warder | Alternative form of guarder |
| 5 | Old French | guarder | to protect; to guard; to look at |
| 6 | Frankish | wardēn | to protect; to guard, protect, watch over; to... |
| 7 | Proto-Germanic | wardāną | to guard, protect, watch over |
| 8 | Proto-Germanic | *warduz | — |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | wēr- | true |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | wer- | to burn; to cover, heed, notice; squirrel |