Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “woa” come from?

woa (English) comes from English Wo, from English WHO, from Middle English who, from Old English hwā, from Proto-West Germanic hwaʀ, from Proto-Germanic hwaz, from Proto-Indo-European kʷos, from Proto-Indo-European kʷ- — The primary interrogative root.

Ancestry of “woa”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishWothe prefix of catalog entries in the Gliese star...
2EnglishWHO—
3Middle Englishwho—
4Old Englishhwāwho
5Proto-West Germanichwaʀwho
6Proto-Germanichwazwho, what; whose; whom
7Proto-Indo-EuropeankʷosSee *kʷis
8Proto-Indo-Europeankʷ-The primary interrogative root
Every word from Proto-Indo-European kʷ- →