Where does “watchword” come from?
Watchword comes from Middle English wacche word, combining Middle English wacche from Old English, Proto-Germanic wurdą, and Proto-Indo-European werdʰo-, ultimately deriving from the root weǵ-.
watchword (English): A word used as a motto, as expressive of a...
Definitions
- A word used as a motto, as expressive of a...
Ancestry of “watchword”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle English | wacche word | password; verbal forewarning |
| 2 | Middle English | word | A word; A statement; a linguistic unit said or... |
| 3 | Old English | worð | — |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | *word | — |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | wurdą | word |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | werdʰo- | word |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | werh₁- | to speak, say |