Where does “wake” come from?

Wake derives from Old English wacu, from Proto-Germanic wakō, from Proto-Indo-European weǵ-, meaning to be awake or vigilant.

wake (English): To stop sleeping; To make somebody stop sleeping;...

Definitions

  1. To stop sleeping; To make somebody stop sleeping;...

Ancestry of “wake”, step by step

wake traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.

via Middle English wake

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle EnglishwakeAlternative form of woke
2Old Englishwacuwake, watch
3Old Englishfordford
4Proto-West Germanicfurduford
5Proto-Germanicfurduzford
6Proto-Indo-Europeanpértuscrossing
7Proto-Indo-Europeanper-before, in front; first; to go through
8Proto-Indo-Europeanpr̥tóspassed , crossed

via Old Norse vákr

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Norsevákrwakeful, watchful, alert
2Proto-Norseᚹᚨᚲᚱᚨᛉawake, watchful, alert
3Proto-Germanicwakrazawake; watchful, alert
4Proto-Germanic-razForms adjectives from verbal roots, which usually...
5Proto-Indo-European-rósForms adjectives from Caland system roots

via Middle Dutch wake

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Dutchwake—
2Old Norsevǫka hole in the ice, a polynya
3Proto-Germanicwakwōa hole in the water, a polynya
4Proto-Indo-Europeanwegʷ-wet, moist

Words derived from “wake”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European pr̥tós →