Where does “word” come from?

Word comes from Middle English word, from Proto-Germanic wordą, from Proto-Indo-European werdʰo-, ultimately from the root Proto-Indo-European wer-.

word (English): The smallest unit of language that has a...

Definitions

  1. The smallest unit of language that has a...

Ancestry of “word”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle EnglishwordA word; A statement; a linguistic unit said or...
2Old Englishworðword
3Proto-Germanic*word—
4Proto-Germanicwurdąword
5Proto-Indo-Europeanwerdʰo-word
6Proto-Indo-Europeanwerh₁-to speak, say

Words derived from “word”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European werh₁- →Every word from Proto-Indo-European werdʰo- →Every word from Proto-Germanic wurdą →