Where does “wan” come from?

Wan derives from Old English wann, from Old English ān, from Proto-Germanic andi, from Proto-Indo-European en, ultimately from the Proto-Indo-European root ḱeh₃i-.

wan (English): Pale, sickly-looking; Dim, faint; Bland,...

Definitions

  1. Pale, sickly-looking; Dim, faint; Bland,...

Ancestry of “wan”, step by step

wan traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Middle English wan

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishwanwan; Alternative form of wane; Alternative form...
2Old Englishwanndark; first-person singular preterite of winnan;...
3Proto-Germanicwannazdark, swart

via Middle English wanne

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle EnglishwanneAlternative form of wannen; singular simple past...
2Old Englishƿannwan; dark, dusky

Words derived from “wan”

Every word from Proto-Germanic wannaz →