Etymology Explorer › Swedish

Where does “ve” come from?

ve (Swedish) comes from Old Swedish ve, from Old Norse vei, from Proto-Germanic wai, from Proto-Indo-European wai — oh!; woe!.

ve (Swedish): woe, pity you!; woe, misery

Definitions

  1. woe, pity you!; woe, misery

Ancestry of “ve”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Swedishve—
2Old Norseveiwoe
3Proto-Germanicwaiwoe! alas!
4Proto-Indo-Europeanwaioh!; woe!
Every word from Proto-Indo-European wai →