Where does “van” come from?

van (Faroese) comes from Old Norse ván, from Proto-Germanic wēniz, from Proto-Indo-European wenh₁- — to love.

Ancestry of “van”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Norsevánhope, expectation
2Proto-Germanicwēnizlikely, to be expected; promising, hopeful; hope,...
3Proto-Indo-Europeanwenh₁-to love

Words derived from “van”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European wenh₁- →Every word from Proto-Germanic wēniz →Every word from Old Norse ván →
van — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer