Where does “weirdo” come from?
I appreciate the request, but I need to flag an issue: the etymological chain provided appears problematic and doesn't support a coherent etymology for "weirdo."
The chain seems malformed (it repeats Proto-Indo-European wer- twice, lists "English O" and "Middle English oo" without headwords, and jumps between unrelated roots like wert-, wer-, and uds-). Additionally, "weirdo" is a modern English formation (weird + -o suffix), which would require a different chain showing its derivation from "weird" rather than tracing back through Old English ān.
Before I write the sentence, could you clarify:
1. Is this chain meant to trace "weirdo" specifically, or "weird"?
2. Should the chain start from "weird" and show how "-o" was added?
3. Can you verify the language stages in the chain?
weirdo (English): A strange, odd, eccentric person; An insane,...
Definitions
- A strange, odd, eccentric person; An insane,...
Ancestry of “weirdo”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | weir | An adjustable dam placed across a river to... |
| 2 | Middle English | were | Second-person singular past indicative form of... |
| 3 | Middle English | weren | Plural past indicative form of been; Plural... |
| 4 | Old English | werian | to wear; to defend, protect |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | waʀjan | to clothe |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | warjaną | to ward off, to defend against; to thwart, to... |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | wēr- | true |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | wer- | to burn; to cover, heed, notice; squirrel |