Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “wide” come from?

Wide descends from Middle English wid, Old English wīd, Proto-Germanic wīdaz, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European roots wī- and dʰeh₁-, related to dwóh₁.

wide (English): Having a large physical extent from side to side;...

Definitions

  1. Having a large physical extent from side to side;...

Ancestry of “wide”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Englishwīdwide, vast, broad, long; distant, far
2Proto-Germanicwīdazwide; broad
3Proto-Indo-Europeanh₁weydʰh₁osset apart, asunder, in two
4Proto-Indo-Europeandwi-two; apart, asunder
5Proto-Indo-Europeandwóh₁two

Words derived from “wide”

  • widespread
  • width
  • bandwidth
  • widen
  • wideband
  • linewidth
  • widescreen
  • wideawake
  • beamwidth
  • widemouthed
  • widescale
  • widthwise
  • wyde
  • treewidth
  • ultrawideband
  • wideout
  • ultrawide
  • inchwide
  • widefield
  • halfwidth
  • milewide
  • widebody
  • bitwidth
  • widish
Every word from Proto-Indo-European dwóh₁ →