Where does “weird” come from?
Weird comes from Middle English werde, from Old English wyrd, from Proto-Germanic wurdiz, from Proto-Indo-European wert-, ultimately from the root wer-.
weird (English): Having an unusually strange character or...
Definitions
- Having an unusually strange character or...
Ancestry of “weird”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | werde | Destiny, fate; the force that determines events |
| 2 | Old English | wyrd | fate, destiny; the Fates; event, occurrence |
| 3 | Old Persian | wurdi | flower |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | wurdiz | fate, destiny |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | wrti- | — |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | wert- | to turn, to rotate |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | wer- | to burn; to cover, heed, notice; squirrel |