Where does “were” come from?

were (Middle High German) comes from Old High German werī, from Proto-Germanic warīniz, from Proto-Germanic -īniz, from Proto-Germanic -niz, from Proto-Indo-European -nis.

Ancestry of “were”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old High Germanwerī—
2Proto-Germanicwarīnizwarding off, defense
3Proto-Germanic-īnizForms abstract nouns from weak class 1 verbs
4Proto-Germanic-nizForms abstract nouns from verbal roots and stems
5Proto-Indo-European-nis—

Words derived from “were”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European -nis →Every word from Proto-Germanic -īniz →Every word from Proto-Germanic warīniz →
were — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer