Where does “wapentac” come from?
wapentac (Middle English) comes from Old English wǣpenġetæc, from Old Norse vápnatak, from Old Norse tak, from Old Norse taka, from Proto-Germanic tēkaną, from Proto-Indo-European deh₁g- — to touch.
Ancestry of “wapentac”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Old English | wǣpenġetæc | — |
| 2 | Old Norse | vápnatak | lit. a weapons-touching: a Scandinavian ceremony... |
| 3 | Old Norse | tak | grip, hold |
| 4 | Old Norse | taka | to take; taking, capture; taking, seizing |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | tēkaną | to touch; to grasp |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | deh₁g- | to touch |
Words derived from “wapentac”