Where does “wear” come from?
Wear comes from Middle English weren, from Old English werian, from Old English wesan, from Proto-Indo-European wes-, bʰew-, h₁ésmi, bʰuH-, and h₁es-, roots related to being and becoming.
wear (English): To carry or have equipped on or about one's body,...
Definitions
- To carry or have equipped on or about one's body,...
Ancestry of “wear”, step by step
wear traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Middle English werien
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | werien | — |
| 2 | Old English | wyrġan | to strangle |
| 3 | Proto-Germanic | wurgijaną | to strangle |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | wargaz | outlaw, criminal; wolf |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | werǵʰ- | bind, squeeze; to bind, squeeze; to turn, twist,... |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | wēr- | true |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | wer- | to burn; to cover, heed, notice; squirrel |