Etymology Explorer › Old English

Where does “hwæġ” come from?

hwæġ (Old English) comes from Proto-West Germanic hwai, from Proto-Indo-European kʷey- — to pay; to avenge.

Ancestry of “hwæġ”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Proto-West Germanichwaiwhey
2Proto-Indo-Europeankʷey-to pay; to avenge

Words derived from “hwæġ”

  • whey
  • wheylike
  • wheyish
  • wheyey
  • wheyface
  • wheyishness
  • whey-faced
  • sack-whey
  • wheye
  • whey
  • whei
Every word from Proto-Indo-European kʷey- →