Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “welcome” come from?

Welcome derives from Middle English welcome, from Old English wilcuma, from Proto-Germanic wiljakumô, blending Old English cuman from Proto-Indo-European gʷem- with Proto-Indo-European welh₁-.

welcome (English): Whose arrival is a cause of joy; received with...

Definitions

  1. Whose arrival is a cause of joy; received with...

Ancestry of “welcome”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishwelcome—
2Old Englishwilcumawelcome
3Proto-Germanicwiljakumôwelcome; welcome!
4Proto-Germanicwiljanąto want
5Proto-Indo-Europeanwélyoyt—
6Proto-Indo-Europeanwélyeti—
7Proto-Indo-Europeanwelh₁-to choose; to want

Words derived from “welcome”

  • welcoming
  • unwelcome
  • unwelcoming
  • welcomer
  • welcomingly
  • welcomely
  • welcomest
  • unwelcomeness
  • unwelcomely
  • welcomeness
  • unwelcomingly
  • welcometh
  • welcomingness
  • welcs
  • unwelcomingness
  • bewelcome
  • welkam
Every word from Proto-Indo-European welh₁- →