Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “ware” come from?

Ware comes from Middle English ware, from Old French vair meaning a type of fur, from Latin varius meaning speckled or varied, tracing back through Proto-Indo-European roots expressing change and existence.

ware (English): Aware; The state of being aware; heed; Goods or a...

Definitions

  1. Aware; The state of being aware; heed; Goods or a...

Ancestry of “ware”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle EnglishwareAlternative form of veir; Alternative form of...
2Old Englishwærcautious, on guard, watching out for something;...
3Proto-West Germanicwārtrue, reliable
4Proto-Germanicwēraztrue; reliable; friendly; kind
5Proto-Indo-EuropeanwiHrósman; husband; warrior, hero
6Proto-Indo-Europeanweyh₁-to chase, pursue; to suppress, persecute

Words derived from “ware”

  • warehouse
  • wary
  • wares
  • warily
  • unwary
  • warehousing
  • wariness
  • warehouseman
  • unwarily
  • wareroom
  • homewares
  • slipware
  • unwariness
  • warehouselike
  • unware
  • warehouser
  • warehouseful
  • potteryware
  • miniwarehouse
  • overwary
  • rewarehouse
  • wareless
  • warisome
  • schlockware
Every word from Proto-Indo-European weyh₁- →