Where does “wē” come from?

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

Ancestry of “wē”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old High Germanwēwoe
2Proto-West Germanicwaiwoe!, alas!
3Proto-Germanicwaiwoe! alas!
4Proto-Indo-Europeanwaioh!; woe!

Words derived from “wē”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European wai →Every word from Proto-Germanic wai →Every word from Proto-West Germanic wai →