Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “working” come from?

Working comes from English work, from Middle English werk, from Old English wyrċan, from Proto-Germanic wurkijaną, from Proto-Indo-European werǵ-, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European wreg-.

working (English): Operation; action; Method of operation; The...

Definitions

  1. Operation; action; Method of operation; The...

Ancestry of “working”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishwerking—
2Old Englishwyrċing—
3Old English-ingForming nouns from verbs, indicating action,...
4Old English-tūn—
5Old Englishtūnenclosure, yard; place; dwelling
6Proto-West Germanictūnfence
7Proto-Germanictūnąfence; enclosure
8Gaulishdunumfort; hill, hillfort
9Proto-Celticdūnomstronghold, rampart
10Proto-Indo-Europeandʰewh₂-smoke; mist, haze

Words derived from “working”

  • hardworking
  • workingman
  • woodworking
  • metalworking
  • nonworking
  • interworking
  • outworking
  • teamworking
  • ironworking
  • homeworking
  • workingwoman
  • coworking
  • leatherworking
  • stoneworking
  • pathworking
  • glassworking
  • underworking
  • aworking
  • steelworking
  • bronzeworking
  • mineworking
  • wireworking
  • copperworking
  • needleworking
Every word from Proto-Indo-European dʰewh₂- →