Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “warn” come from?

Warn comes from Middle English warnen, from Old English warnian, from Proto-Germanic warnōną, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European wer-.

warn (English): To make aware of ; "especially:"; To caution or...

Definitions

  1. To make aware of ; "especially:"; To caution or...

Ancestry of “warn”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishwarnento warn; admonish
2Old EnglishwarnianAlternative form of wearnian; to warn, caution,...
3Proto-Germanicwarnōnąto be careful; to warn
4Proto-Indo-Europeanwēr-true
5Proto-Indo-Europeanwer-to burn; to cover, heed, notice; squirrel

Words derived from “warn”

  • warning
  • warningly
  • warner
  • warneth
  • warnest
  • warningless
  • prewarn
  • unwarning
  • awarn
  • diswarn
  • unwarnable
  • warnable
Every word from Proto-Indo-European wer- →