Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “wet” come from?

Wet comes from Middle English weten, from Old English witan, from Proto-Indo-European weyd-, meaning to divide or separate.

wet (English): Made up of liquid or moisture, usually water; Of...

Definitions

  1. Made up of liquid or moisture, usually water; Of...

Ancestry of “wet”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishwetwet, watery; wet, rainy; liquid, fluid
2Middle Englishwetento wet
3Old Englishwǣtanto wet, moisten, water
4Proto-Germanicwētijanąto wet; make wet
5Indo-European*wed-—

Words derived from “wet”

  • wetting
  • wetland
  • wetter
  • wettability
  • wetsuit
  • wetly
  • bedwetting
  • electrowetting
  • wettable
  • nonwetting
  • wetware
  • unwet
  • rewet
  • wettish
  • wetten
  • prewet
  • bedwetter
  • wetwork
  • wettie
  • dewet
  • overwet
  • unwettable
  • wetwood
  • semiwet
Every word from Indo-European *wed- →