Where does “weh” come from?

weh (German) comes from Middle High German wē, from Old High German wē, from Proto-West Germanic wai, from Proto-Germanic wai, from Proto-Indo-European wai — oh!; woe!.

weh (German): sore, painful; alas! woe!

Definitions

  1. sore, painful; alas! woe!

Ancestry of “weh”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle High German
2Old High Germanwoe
3Proto-West Germanicwaiwoe!, alas!
4Proto-Germanicwaiwoe! alas!
5Proto-Indo-Europeanwaioh!; woe!

Words derived from “weh

Every word from Proto-Indo-European wai