Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “wolf” come from?

Wolf descends from Old English wulf, from Proto-West Germanic wulf, from Proto-Germanic wulfaz, from Proto-Indo-European wĺ̥kʷos, all denoting the carnivorous animal.

wolf (English): The gray wolf, specifically all subspecies of the...

Definitions

  1. The gray wolf, specifically all subspecies of the...

Ancestry of “wolf”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishwolfwolf, lupine; terrifying person
2Old Englishwulfwolf
3Proto-West Germanicwulfwolf
4Proto-Germanicwulfazwolf
5Proto-Indo-Europeanwĺ̥kʷoswolf

Words derived from “wolf”

  • Wolf
  • wolves
  • wolfish
  • Wolverine
  • wolverine
  • wolfhound
  • wolfskin
  • wolfishly
  • wolflike
  • wolfsbane
  • wolfman
  • wolfberry
  • wolffish
  • wolfishness
  • wolfpack
  • wolvish
  • wolfer
  • wolfy
  • wolfie
  • wolfling
  • Wolfland
  • wolfless
  • wolfhood
  • wolfkind
Every word from Proto-Indo-European wĺ̥kʷos →