Where does “wē” come from?

wē (Old Dutch) comes from Old Dutch hwē, from Proto-West Germanic hwaʀ, from Proto-Germanic hwaz, from Proto-Indo-European kʷos, from Proto-Indo-European kʷ- — The primary interrogative root.

Ancestry of “wē”, step by step

wē traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Old Dutch hwē

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Dutchhwē—
2Proto-West Germanichwaʀwho
3Proto-Germanichwazwho, what; whose; whom
4Proto-Indo-EuropeankʷosSee *kʷis
5Proto-Indo-Europeankʷ-The primary interrogative root

via Proto-Germanic wai

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Proto-Germanicwaiwoe! alas!
2Proto-Indo-Europeanwaioh!; woe!

Words derived from “wē”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European kʷ- →Every word from Proto-Indo-European kʷos →Every word from Proto-Germanic hwaz →