Where does “want” come from?

want (Old Dutch) comes from Frankish wantu, from Proto-Germanic wantuz, from Proto-Indo-European wondʰnú-, from Proto-Indo-European wendʰ- — to wind, to turn.

want (Old Dutch): wall

Definitions

  1. wall

Ancestry of “want”, step by step

want traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Frankish wantu

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Frankishwantuglove; mitten; glove
2Proto-Germanicwantuzglove, mitten
3Proto-Indo-Europeanwondʰnú-glove
4Proto-Indo-Europeanwendʰ-to wind, to turn

via Proto-West Germanic *wandu

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Proto-West Germanic*wandu—
2Proto-Germanicwanduzmole; vole; rod, switch, stick

Words derived from “want”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European wendʰ- →Every word from Proto-Indo-European wondʰnú- →Every word from Proto-Germanic wantuz →