Etymology Explorer › Middle English

Where does “werien” come from?

werien (Middle English) comes from Old English wyrġan, from Proto-Germanic wurgijaną, from Proto-Germanic wargaz, from Proto-Indo-European werǵʰ-, from Proto-Indo-European wēr-, from Proto-Indo-European wer- — to burn; to cover, heed, notice; squirrel.

Ancestry of “werien”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Englishwyrġan—
2Proto-Germanicwurgijanąto strangle
3Proto-Germanicwargazoutlaw, criminal; wolf
4Proto-Indo-Europeanwerǵʰ-bind, squeeze; to bind, squeeze; to turn, twist,...
5Proto-Indo-Europeanwēr-true
6Proto-Indo-Europeanwer-to burn; to cover, heed, notice; squirrel

Words derived from “werien”

  • wear
  • wearing
  • worry
  • worn
  • worrying
  • underwear
  • worrisome
  • wearable
  • careworn
  • outworn
  • worryingly
  • worrier
  • unworn
  • timeworn
  • wayworn
  • microwear
  • shopworn
  • weatherworn
  • weareth
  • wearest
  • worrit
  • worriment
  • waterworn
  • wearout
Every word from Proto-Indo-European wer- →