Where does “woe” come from?

Woe comes from Middle English wo, from Old English wā, from Old English weġ, from Proto-Indo-European wai, ultimately from the root Proto-Indo-European weǵʰ-.

woe (English): Great sadness or distress; a misfortune causing...

Definitions

  1. Great sadness or distress; a misfortune causing...

Ancestry of “woe”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle EnglishwoAlternative form of woo
2Old Englishwoe
3Proto-West Germanicwaiwoe!, alas!
4Proto-Germanicwaiwoe! alas!
5Proto-Indo-Europeanwaioh!; woe!

Words derived from “woe

Every word from Proto-Indo-European wai
woe — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer