Where does “wāgen” come from?

wāgen (Middle High German) comes from Middle High German wāge, from Middle Low German wāge, from Old Saxon wag, from Proto-West Germanic wāg, from Proto-Germanic wēgaz, from Proto-Indo-European weǵʰ- — to bring; to transport.

Ancestry of “wāgen”, step by step

wāgen traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Middle High German wāge

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle High Germanwāgewave; scale
2Middle Low Germanwāgewave
3Old Saxonwagwave
4Proto-West Germanicwāgwave
5Proto-Germanicwēgazwave; sea
6Proto-Indo-Europeanweǵʰ-to bring; to transport

via Old High German wagan

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old High Germanwagan—
2Proto-West Germanicwagncart, wagon
3Proto-Germanicwagnazcart, wagon
4Proto-Indo-Europeanwoǵʰnoswagon, primitive carriage

Words derived from “wāgen”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European weǵʰ- →Every word from Proto-Germanic wēgaz →Every word from Proto-West Germanic wāg →