Where does “wood” come from?

Wood comes from Old English wudu, from Proto-Indo-European widʰu-, ultimately deriving from the Proto-Indo-European root weydʰ-.

wood (English): The substance making up the central part of the...

Definitions

  1. The substance making up the central part of the...

Ancestry of “wood”, step by step

wood traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Middle English wode

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishwodemadness, insanity, an overmastering emotion,...
2Old Englishwuduwood; forest, woods; tree
3Old Englishwiduwood, forest, grove; tree; timber
4Proto-Germanicwiduzwood
5Proto-Indo-Europeanwidʰu-forest, wood; tree, beam

via Old English wōd

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Englishwōdmad, insane; mad, raging, senseless; mad, enraged
2Proto-Germanicwōdazexcited, energised, spirited; frenzied, obsessed;...
3Proto-Indo-Europeanweh₂t-excited, inspired; possessed, raging

Words derived from “wood”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European widʰu- →Every word from Proto-Germanic widuz →Every word from Old English widu →