Etymology Explorer › Middle English

Where does “wax” come from?

wax (Middle English) comes from Old English weax, from Proto-West Germanic wahs, from Proto-Germanic wahsą, from Proto-Indo-European woḱ-so-.

Ancestry of “wax”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Englishweaxwax
2Proto-West Germanicwahs—
3Proto-Germanicwahsąwax
4Proto-Indo-Europeanwoḱ-so-—

Words derived from “wax”

  • wax
  • waxwork
  • waxeth
  • earwax
  • waxwing
  • waxlike
  • dewaxing
  • candlewax
  • waxer
  • waxbill
  • waxless
  • waxworm
  • waxberry
  • waxflower
  • waxworker
  • waxest
  • rewax
  • dewax
  • waxable
  • overwax
  • waxplant
  • hydrodewaxing
  • wax poetic
  • grave wax
Every word from Proto-Indo-European woḱ-so- →