# An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/W (full text)

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W.
Waare, see Ware.
Wabe, feminine, ‘honeycomb,’ from the equivalent Middle High German wabe, masculine and feminine (waben, masculine) Old High German waba, feminine (wabo, masculine); literally perhaps ‘texture,’ allied to weben. It is scarcely connected with Latin favus. Allied also to Waffel.
wabern, verb, ‘to be agitated,’ from Middle High German wabern, ‘to be in motion, move to and fro’; compare Old Icelandic vafra, ‘to move to and fro.’ —
Waberlohe, feminine, ‘flickering flame,’ formed like the equivalent Old Icelandic vafrlogi.
wach, adjective, ‘awake, on the alert,’ a remarkably late word (of the last century), which is entirely wanting in the earlier periods and dialects (in Middle High German wacker, see wacker); a recent derivative of wecken and wachen. The latter is an old form; compare Middle High German wachen, Old High German wahhên, ‘to wake, be awake,’ Old Saxon wakôn, Dutch waken, Anglo-Saxon wacian, wœččan, English to wake, watch; also in Gothic waken, strong verb, ‘to be awake, watch.’ For the early history of the cognates see the causative wecken. The abstract form Wache, feminine, ‘guard, watch,’ is from Middle High German (very rare) wache, for which wahte, feminine (Modern High German Wacht), is the usual term; to this Modern High German Wächter, masculine, ‘watch, guardian,’ from Middle High German wahtœ̂re is allied.
Wachholder, masculine, ‘juniper, gin’; the word has attained its present form by many inorganic changes; it is based on the equivalent Old High German wëhhalturia (Middle High German wëcheltürre) and wëhhœltar (Middle High German wëcholter); in Middle High German also wachalter, quëckolter, rëckholter in represented by the modern Alemannian form Reckholder). Holunder and Maßholder show that the derivative syllable is MidHigh German -ter; as in the case of Maßholder, the final syllables were changed to Holder, equivalent to Holunder. The signification of the l derivative, Old High German *wëhhal, ‘juniper’ (also wëhhan- in dialectic Wachandel), is entirety inexplicable.
Wachs, neuter, ‘wax,’ from the equivalent Middle High German and Old High German wahs, neuter, common to Teutonic in the same sense; compare Old Icelandic vax, Anglo-Saxon weahs, English wax, Low German and Dutch was. Old Slovenian (Russian) voskŭ, Lithuanian wászkas, ‘wax,’ perhaps borrowed from Old Teutonic, are closely related to this word.
wachsen, verb, ‘to grow, increase, thrive,’ from the equivalent Middle High German wahsen, Old High German wahsan, strong verb; corresponding to the equivalent Gothic wahsjan, Old Saxon wahsan, Dutch wassen, Anglo-Saxon weaxan, English to wax. The Teutonic root wahs contained in these words, and perhaps cognate with that of wecken, appears in non-Teutonic as weks, uks; compare Sanscrit vakš, ukš, ‘to grow strong or tall,’ Zend uχš, Greek ἀέξω (αὐξάνω), ‘to strengthen, increase, grow’; compare Ochse.
Wachtel, feminine, ‘quail,’ from the equivalent Middle High German wahtel, Old High German wahtala, feminine; corresponding to Anglo-Saxon wyhtel (rare; usually çrschęn). The term looks like a derivative of Wacht (root wak, ‘to be awake’). It is probable, however, that the word has attained its present form by many changes; compare Dutch kwakkel, kwartel, ‘quail’ (phonetically cognate with Middle Latin quaccila, French quaille, Italian quaglia, ‘quail’). The word for ‘quail,’ common to Sanscrit and Greek but unknown to Teutonic, was wortok, wortog; compare Sanscrit vartikâ, Greek ὄρτυξ, ‘quail.’
Wacke, feminine, ‘wacke, toadstone,’ from Mid ​High German wacke, masculine, ‘rock-flint, block of stone projecting from the ground,’ Old High German *wacko- (from the base waggo), masculine, ‘pebble, flint.’ Further cognates are wanting.
wackeln, verb, ‘to shake, rock, totter,’ from the equivalent late Middle High German wackeln (and also wacken). An intensive form from Middle High German wagen, Old High German wagôn, ‘to move, totter, shake’; compare Dutch twaggelen, ‘to shake,’ Anglo-Saxon wagian, also English to wag (from Anglo-Saxon *waggian). These cognates are certainly more closely related to Modern High German wiegen (Teutonic root weg, from the Aryan root wē̆gh) than to the cognates of wanken.
wacker, adjective, ‘valiant, gallant, honest,’ from Middle High German wacker (wacher), Old High German wacchar (wahhhar), adjective, ‘cheerful, lively, awake’; compare Dutch wakker, ‘awake, awakened, cheerful, powerful,’ Anglo-Saxon wacor, ‘awake,’ Old Icelandic wakr, ‘stirring, awake.’ An old derivative to Sanscrit vigra, ‘powerful, active’) from the Teutonic root wak, ‘to be stirring, brisk’ (see wecken); compare also wach.
Wade, feminine, ‘calf’ (of the leg), from the equivalent Middle High German wade, masculine (used chiefly in the plural), Old High German wado, masculine; compare the equivalent Dutch wade. Old Icelandic vǫðve, masculine, ‘muscle,’ shows that the more general meaning was ‘muscle’; Old High German ado (accusative wadun) is based on Teutonic waþwo, masculine. There are no cognates in the non-Teutonic languages.
Waffe, feminine, ‘weapon,’ from the equivalent Middle High German waffen, wâfen, Old High German waffan, wâfan, neuter, ‘weapon, sword, armour’; corresponding to Gothic wépna, neuter plural, ‘weapons,’ Anglo-Saxon wœ̂pn, English weapon, Dutch wapen. Compare also Wappen. Teutonic wêpno- (wapono-) assumes a Teutonic wêbono- (wobono-); its connection with the equivalent Greek ὅπλον (literally ‘utensil’) is conceivable by assuming a double root, wop, wob. Whether this root is identical with the Sanscrit root vap, ‘to scatter, sow,’ in which case ‘missile’ would be the primary meaning of Waffe, is uncertain.
Waffel, feminine, ‘waffle, wafer,’ Modern High German only, properly a Low German word; compare Dutch wafel (hence English waffle), The Waffel was so called from its resemblance to the honeycomb, for the French term gaufre signifies both ‘honeycomb’ and ‘waffle’ Compare English wafer and Wake.
Wage, feminine, ‘balance,’ from Middle High German wâdge, Old High German wâga, feminine, ‘balance, weighing-machine’ (allied to wägen). Corresponding to Old Saxon wâga, Dutch waag, Anglo-Saxon wœ̂g (whence English to weigh), Old Icelandic vâg, feminine, ‘balance.’ Allied to the Teutonic root weg in wiegen.
Wagen, masculine, ‘vehicle, carriage, waggon,’ from the equivalent Middle High German wagen, Old High German wagan, masculine; corresponding to the equivalent Dutch wagen, Anglo-Saxon wœgn, English wain, Old Icelandic vagn, ‘waggon.’ Based on the Teutonic root wëg (see Weg); from the corresponding Aryan root wëgh, wogh, ‘to drag, drive,’ are derived Greek ἄχος, Latin vehiculum, Old Icelandic fén, ‘waggon.’ The Aryan words Rad and Nabe show that vehicles were used in primitive times; for the Aryan root wegh, ‘to drag, to move on,’ see wegen. —
Wagner, masculine, ‘cartwright’ from Middle High German wagener, ‘cartwright, driver, carrier,’ Old High German waganâri, ‘cartwright’; hence the proper name Wagner.
wagen, verb, ‘to venture, risk,’ fro Middle High German wâgen, weak verb, ‘to hazard, venture,’ literally ‘to put in the scales’ Middle High German wâge, feminine, ‘balance,’ also means ‘uncertain result’; the word is unknown to Modern High German in this sense.
wägen, verb, ‘to weigh,’ from Middle High German wëgen; identical with wiegen.
Wahl, feminine, ‘choice, election,’ from the equivalent Middle High German wal, Old High German wala, feminine; to this is allied Modern High German wählen, ‘to choose,’ from the equivalent Middle High German węln, węllen, Old High German węllen (from *waljan), weak verb. Compare Old Icelandic val, neuter, ‘choice,’ with velja, ‘to select.’ Allied to the Aryan root wel, ‘to wish,’ appearing in wollen.
Wahlstatt, Walstatt, feminine, ‘field of battle,’ from the equivalent Middle High German walstat, feminine; Middle High German and Old High German wal, masculine, feminine, and neuter, has also the same meaning. The corresponding Anglo-Saxon wœl signifies ‘those left on the battlefield,’ also ‘corpse’ (to which wœlstôw, ‘place of combat,’ is allied); compare Old Icelandic valr, ‘the corpses on the battlefield,’ valfǫđr (literally ‘father of the dead’). It is impossible to recognise in this primitive word a derivative of the root of wählen, as if it meant ‘the chosen favourites of the god of war, who were led away by the Valkyres.’ It is rather based on a root wăl, ‘destruction,’ which appears also in Old High German wuol, ‘defeat,’ Anglo-Saxon wôl, ‘plague, pestilence’; allied to wühlen?. —
Walküre, feminine, ‘Valkyre,’ formed from Old Icelandic valkyrja (Anglo-Saxon wœlcyrie), feminine, properly ‘a divine maiden who makes a selection of the slain on the field of battle.’ See kiesen.
Wahn, masculine ‘illusion, delusion,’ from Middle High German and Old High German wân, masculine, ‘uncertain, unfounded opinion, supposition, belief, hoping, ​thoughts.’ The word (compare Argwohn) did not originally contain the secondary meaning ‘want of foundation,’ as is shown by Old Saxon wân, Anglo-Saxon wên, Gothic wêns, ‘expectation, hope.’ Hence the derivative wähnen, ‘to think, believe, suppose,’ Middle High German wœnen, Old High German wânnen (from *wânjan), ‘to mean, suppose, hope,’ compare the equivalent Gothic wênjan, Anglo-Saxon wênan, Old Saxon wânian. The nominal stem wêni is not related to any terms in non-Teutonic (Aryan root wê?, ghwê, ghê?), unless it be connected with the root wen, ‘to love,’ from which Old High German and Old Saxon wini, ‘friend,’ Sanscrit van, ‘to love,’ and Latin venerari, ‘to venerate,’ are derived.
Wahnsinn, masculine, ‘frenzy, madness, delirium.’ It has properly no connection whatever with the preceding word; it first occurs in Modern High German, and is an imitation of the earlier Wahnwitz, masculine, ‘delirium,’ which is based on Middle High German wănwitzec, wănwitze, Old High German wănawizzi, adjective, ‘unintelligible, void of understanding.’ Wahnwitz is the sole relic of an old method of forming compounds with wăna-, ‘wanting,’ which is especially preserved in Scandinavian; compare also Old High German wanaheil, ‘sickly,’ literally perhaps ‘deficient in health’; thus too Old High German wanawizzi, ‘deficient in sense.’ Gothic wans, ‘deficient, lacking,’ Old Icelandic vanr, ‘lacking,’ is an old participle with the suffix ana, from the Aryan root ū̆, ‘to be empty,’ from which öde is derived; compare the Zend root û, ‘to want,’ Sanscrit ûna, ‘wanting,’ and Old High German wanôn, ‘to diminish.’
wahr, adjective, ‘true, real, genuine,’ from the equivalent Middle High German and Old High German wâr (also Middle High German wœre, Old High German wâri); corresponding to Old Saxon wâr, Dutch waar, ‘true.’ A genuine Teutonic word, found only in a few languages; Latin vêrus, Old Irish fír, ‘true’ (and also Old Slovenian věru, ‘belief’), are primitively allied to it; its primitive meaning has not been discovered. In Gothic, only *tuzwêrs, ‘doubtful,’ appears to be cognate; but Gothic unwêrs, ‘indignant,’ Old High German mitiwâri, ‘mild,’ probably belong to another class. The word for ‘true’ in Gothic is sunjis, in Anglo-Saxon, sôþ, which are related to Modern High German sein, Aryan root es; ‘the true’ is thus ‘the existent,’ which suggests a connection between Latin vêrus, equivalent to Teutonic wêro-, through the medium of a prehistoric form, *wes-ró-, with the Aryan root wes, ‘to be’ (see Wesen).
wahren, verb, ‘to watch over, preserve,’ from Middle High German warn, weak verb, ‘to notice, be careful, pay attention to’; Old High German only in biwarôn (the same as Middle High German bewarn, Modern High German bewahren, ‘to keep, preserve’). Compare the corresponding Old Saxon warôn, ‘to pay attention to.’ From German is derived French se garer, ‘to guard against, mind’; but French garnir (Italian guarnire), ‘to furnish, stock,’ is based on the equivalent Old High German warnôn, Middle High German warnen, which, like wahren, is derived from the same root war, ‘to take care of, look after.’ To this is allied Old High German and Old Saxon wara, Middle High German war, feminine, ‘attention,’ still preserved in wahrnehmen, ‘to perceive,’ from Middle High German war nëmen, Old High German and Old Saxon wara nëman, ‘to pay attention to, perceive’ (in Old High German and Middle High German construed with the genit.), literally ‘to have regard to.’ The Teutonic root. war, ‘to take heed, notice,’ is rightly regarded as primitively cognate with Greek ὁράω, ‘I see’ (Aryan root wor, to which warten is also allied).
währen, verb, ‘to last, continue,’ from the equivalent Middle High German wërn, Old High German wërên, weak verb; allied to Old Saxon warôn, ‘to last.’ The r of these verbs is based on an old s, which leads to a connection with the Aryan root wes, ‘to be’ (compare Wesen). Derivative während, preposition and conjunction, ‘during, pending, whilst,’ properly a participle.
Wahrung, feminine, ‘fixed value or standard,’ from Middle High German wërunge, ‘guaranteed alloy.’
wahrnehmen, see wahren.
Wahrsager, masculine, ‘soothsayer, prophet,’ from the equivalent late Middle High German (rare) wârsager, which is properly Low German. Compare Old Saxon wârsago, ‘prophet,’ and weissagen.
Währwolf, see Werwolf.
Wahrzeichen, neuter, ‘mark, token, omen, signal,’ from Middle High German warzeichen, neuter, ‘token, mark,’ for which the equivalent Middle High German and Old High German wortzeichen (Old Saxon wordtêkan), neuter, is ordinarily used. The word has been corrupted; its primitive form and meaning are obscure. Compare also the cognate, Old Icelandic jartein, ‘token of recognition.’
Waid, masculine, ‘woad, blue dye,’ from the equivalent Middle High German and Old High German weit, masculine; corresponding to the equivalent Dutch weede, Anglo-Saxon wâd, English woad, Gothic *waida- (for which wizdila, ‘woad,’ is found,’ whence Middle Latin guasdium, French guède). From Teutonic is derived the equivalent Romance cognate, Italian guado. Latin vitrum, ‘woad,’ is historically related to the Teutonic cognates, which may be based on pre-Teutonic waitó.
Waidmann, see Weide (2).
​ Waise, feminine (masculine), ‘orphan,’ from Middle High German weise, Old High German weiso (*weisso?), masculine, ‘parentless child,’ also ‘fatherless or motherless child’ (the masculine seems to be used in Middle High German for the feminine also); corresponding to Dutch wees, Old Frisian wêsa, ‘orphan.’ The base (Teutonic waisjôn?) is probably derived from an Aryan root meaning ‘to rob’; compare Sanscrit vidh, ‘to become empty’ (see Witwe). In Gothic a diminutive of Witwe (see Dirne and Eichhorn), widuwaírna, masculine, signifies ‘orphan.’
Wald, masculine, ‘wood, forest,’ from the equivalent Middle High German walt (d), Old High German wald, neuter; corresponding to Old Saxon wald, Dutch would, Anglo-Saxon weald, English wold, Old Icelandic vǫllr, Gothic *walþus, masculine, ‘wood.’ Teutonic walþu-s, from which Old French gaut, ‘brushwood,’ is borrowed, points to pre-Teutonic waltus (waltwos?), to which Greek άλσος (for *ϝαλτϝος?) ‘grove,’ and Sanscrit vâṭa (from *valta), ‘garden, district,’ are probably related. The connection with wild is uncertain.
Walfisch, masculine, ‘whale,’ from the equivalent Middle High German walvisch, Old High German walfisc, masculine. The first component was originally sufficient to designate a whale; compare Modern High German, Middle High German, and Old High German wal, Anglo-Saxon hwœl, Old Icelandic hvalr, masculine, ‘whale.’ The early history of Teutonic hwala-, ‘whale’ (to which Middle High German walre, Old High German węlira, ‘whale,’ is allied), is obscure. — Walroß, neuter, ‘walrus,’ from the equivalent Danish hvalros, as well as Narwal and Wels, are from the same root.
walken, verb, ‘to full, mill (cloth); tread (skins); thrash, cudgel,’ from Middle High German walken, Old High German walchan, strong verb, ‘to strike, thrash, full, mill (cloth)’; compare Dutch walken, ‘to press,’ Anglo-Saxon wealcan, Old Icelandic valka, ‘to roll, move to and fro.’ From Teutonic walkan are also derived Italian gualcare, ‘to calender or press cloth,’ gualchiera, ‘fulling-mill.’ The Teutonic root walk, from Aryan walg, seems to coincide with Sanscrit valg, ‘to hop or skip along.’ — From Middle High German walker, węlker, ‘fuller,’ is derived the proper name Welker.
Walküre, see Wahlstatt.
Wall, masculine, ‘rampart, mound, embankment,’ from the equivalent Middle High German wal (ll), masculine and neuter; Old High German *wal is by chance not recorded. Compare Old Saxon wal (ll), Dutch val, ‘rampart,’ Anglo-Saxon weall, English wall. This West Teutonic word, which is certainly borrowed from the equivalent Latin vallum, vallus, seems to belong to the earliest loan-words from Latin (compare Straße, Mauer); primitive kinship with the Latin word is very improbable.
Wallach, masculine, ‘gelding,’ Modern High German only, literally ‘Wallachian’; “the practice of gelding stallions was introduced into the Middle and West of Europe from Wallachia and Hungary.”
wallen (1.), verb, ‘to boil, bubble,’ from the the equiv Middle High German wallen, Old High German wallan, strong verb; corresponding to Old Saxon wallan, Anglo-Saxon weallan, allied to Old Icelandic vella, ‘to boil, bubble.’ From the same Aryan root wel (wol) is derived Modern High German Welle, ‘wave, billow.’
wallen (2.), verb, ‘to wander about, go on a pilgrimage,’ from Middle High German wallen, Old High German wallôn, ‘to wander, roam about, go on a pilgrimage’; corresponding to Anglo-Saxon weallian, ‘to wander.’ Allied to Middle High German wallœre, ‘traveller (on foot), pilgrim’; Middle High German wallevart, Modern High German Wallfahrt, feminine, ‘pilgrimage.’ The root wal (wallôn, rom wal-nô) is perhaps not different from the root of wallen (1). Compare English to walk (Teutonic base wallaqôn) with Anglo-Saxon weallian.
Walnuß, feminine, ‘walnut,’ Modern High German only, from the equivalent Dutch walnoot; compare Anglo-Saxon wealhhnutu, English walnut, Old Icelandic walhnot; it signifies ‘French or Italian nut.’ The first component is walh-, a term originally applied by the Teutons to the Kelts (at first to the Volcae), but later to the Romance tribes of France and Italy. See welsch.
Walroß, see Walfisch. —
Walstatt, see Wahlstatt.
walten, verb, ‘to dispose, manage, govern,’ from the equivalent Middle High German walten, Old High German waltan, strong verb; corresponding to Old Saxon and Gothic waldan, Old Icelandic valda, Anglo-Saxon wealdan, gewyldan, English to wield. Teutonic waldan (from pre-Teutonic waltá-) has a t which properly belonged to the present stem, but was afterwards attached to the verbal stem; compare the Old Icelandic preterite olla, from a Teutonic base *wol-þô-m, ‘I governed.’ The root wal is also indicated by Latin valere, ‘to be strong,’ as well as Old Irish flaith, ‘dominion.’ The allied Slavonic words seem to have been borrowed at an early period from Teutonic; compare Old Slovenian vlada (vlasti) and Lithuanian valdýti, ‘to govern,’ valadóvas, ‘ruler,’ pavilděti, ‘to possess,’ velděti, ‘to acquire.’
Walze, feminine, ‘cylinder, roller,’ from the equivalent late Middle High German walze, feminine. Allied to walzen, ‘to roll,’ Middle High German walzen, strong verb, ‘to roll, turn, revolve,’ Old High German walzan, ‘to turn,’ also Old Icelandic velta, ‘to roll, revolve.’ —
wälzen, verb, ‘to roll, trundle,’ from Middle High German węlzen, Old High German węlzen, walzen (from ​*walzjan), weak verb, ‘to roll, turn, trundle’; factitive of walzen, which was originally only intransit. The Teutonic root walt, from Aryan wald, has no cognates in non-Teutonic.
Wamme, Wampe, feminine, ‘paunch, belly (of a skin), flank, dewlap,’ from Middle High German wamme, older wambê (wampe), feminine, ‘belly, paunch, lap,’ Old High German wamba, wampa (wamba, wumba), feminine. Corresponding to Dutch wam, ‘belly (of a fish),’ Anglo-Saxon and English womb, Old Icelandic vǫmb, Gothic wamba, feminine, ‘belly, body.’ There are no non-Teutonic cognates of the common Teutonic wambô-, ‘belly, entrails.’ —
Wams, masculine, ‘doublet, jerkin, waistcoat,’ from Middle High German wambeîs, wambes, neuter, ‘doublet, garment worn under the coat of mail’; a Romance loan-word; compare Old French gambais. Middle Latin wambasium is itself a derivative of Old High German and Gothic wamba, ‘body.’
Wand, feminine, ‘wall, partition’, from Middle High German want (d), Old High German want, feminine, ‘wall, side’; compare Old Saxon and Dutch wand. This word is wanting in the other dialects (compare Gothic waddjus, English wall). To connect it with the phonetically related winden gives no sense; Wand, literally ‘turning’?.
Wandel, masculine, ‘walking, change, behaviour,’ from Middle High German wandel, Old High German wantal, masculine, ‘retrogression, vicissitude, stain, fault; trade and commerce, communication, intercourse.’ Allied to Old High German wantalôn, Middle High German wandelen, ‘to change, transform, associate’ (wandeln, ‘to walk,’ so too Middle High German wandeln; see the next word). The cognates are based on the root of winden.
wandern, verb, ‘to travel, wander, migrate,’ from Middle High German wandern, ‘to go, walk, travel.’ Derived, like the equivalent wandeln (Middle High German wandeln), from winden.
Wange, feminine, ‘cheek,’ from the equivalent Middle High German wange, Old High German wanga, neuter; Gothic *waggô, neuter, ‘cheek,’ may be inferred from waggareis, ‘pillow.’ Compare Old Saxon wanga, Dutch wang, Anglo-Saxon wǫnge (English wangtooth, ‘jaw- tooth’); the borrowed Italian word guancia, ‘cheek,’ presupposes a term *wankja. The early history of the word is uncertain. Anglo-Saxon wǫng, Old Icelandic vangr, Gothic waggs, ‘field, plain,’ are usually regarded as the nearest cognates, Wange being explained as ‘surface of the face.’ Most of the names for parts of the body have, however, no such origin.
Wank, masculine, in the phrase ohne Wank, ‘without hesitation,’ Middle High German âne wanc, Old High German âno wanc; Middle High German wanc, masculine, ‘want of stability, fickleness.’ Allied to wanken, verb, ‘to totter, vacillate, hesitate,’ from Middle High German wanken, Old High German wanchôn, ‘to totter, waver’; compare Old Icelandic vakka (for *wankân), ‘to totter.’ Connected with Old High German wanchal, Middle High German wankel, ‘wavering, fickle’ (hence Wankelmut, masculine, ‘vacillation,’ Middle High German wankelmuot); allied to winken.
wann, adverb and conjunction, ‘when,’ from Middle High German and Old High German wanne; an old adverbial derivative of the pronominal stem -hwa in wer.
Wanne, feminine, ‘winnowing fan,’ from the equivalent Middle High German wanne, Old High German wanna, feminine. As in the case of Wall, it is quite possible that the word was borrowed from Latin (vannus, ‘winnowing fan’). There exists, however, a genuine Teutonic stem from which Wanne can be derived. Gothic winþjan, and the equivalent English winnow (from Anglo-Saxon windwian) point to a Teutonic root winþ, ‘to winnow’ (Latin ventilare), and hence Old High German wanna might stand for *wanþna. In that case the primitive kinship with Latin vannus (from which English fan is borrowed) would be conceivable.
Wanst, masculine, ‘paunch, belly,’ from the equivalent Middle High German wanst (węnst), Old High German wanast (węnist), masculine. A specifically High German word, which, however, like most of the names for parts of the body (compare Fuß, Herz, and Niere), is genuine Aryan. It is probably connected with Latin venter, ‘belly,’ but more nearly with Sanscrit vastí, ‘bladder,’ and vanišṭhú, ‘entrails.’
Wanze, feminine, ‘bug,’ from the equivalent Middle High German wanze, feminine. The word first appeared in the 13th century; in Middle High German and Old High German the term wantlûs, ‘house-bug,’ is used in the same sense; probably Wanze is an abbreviation of the latter (compare Spatz with Sperling). For the meaning compare Czech stěnice, ‘bug,’ from stěna, ‘wall.’
Wappen, neuter, ‘(coat of) arms, escutcheon,’ from the equivalent Middle High German wâpen, with the variant wâfen, neuter. The former is the Low German form, which established itself through the chivalry of the Lower Rhine; compare Tölpel.
Ware, feminine, ‘goods, merchandise,’ from the equivalent late Middle High German war, feminine; a Low German word, corresponding to the equivalent Dutch waar, Anglo-Saxon waru, English ware, Old Icelandic vara, feminine Gothic *warô (but not *wazô) must be assumed; if the latter meant literally ‘valuable article,’ wert Teutonic wer-þo-) might be regarded as cognate.
warm, adjective, ‘warm,’ from the equivalent ​Middle High German and Old High German warm; corresponding to Old Saxon, Dutch and English warm, Gothic *warms (compare warmjan, ‘to warm’). A common Teutonic adjective based on the Aryan root war, ‘to be hot.’ Compare Old Slovenian varŭ, ‘heat,’ with vrěti, ‘to boil, be hot,’ vrŭlŭ, ‘passionate’; Lithuanian vìrti, ‘to boil.’ The Teutonic cognates have, with less reason, been compared with Sanscrit gharmá, ‘heat of fire, glare of the sun,’ and Greek θερμός, Latin formus, ‘warm.’
warnen, verb, ‘to warn, admonish,’ from Middle High German warnen, ‘to watch over, protect,’ Old High German warnen (węrnen), ‘to deny, refuse, decline.’ Corresponding to Old Saxon węrnian, ‘to decline, withhold.’ Anglo-Saxon wyrnan, English warn, Old Icelandic varna, ‘to refuse.’ On account of the meaning the connection with Old High German warnôn (see wahren) is dubious; undoubted cognates have not yet been found.
Wart, masculine, ‘warder,’ from Middle High German and Old High German wart, ‘warder, keeper,’ which appears only as the second component of compounds. —
Warte, feminine, ‘watch-tower, belfry,’ from Middle High German warte, Old High German warta, feminine, ‘reconnoitring, ambush.’ —
warten, verb, ‘to wait, await, stay,’ from Middle High German warten, Old High German wartên, ‘to spy, lurk, expect.’ Compare Old Saxon wardôn,‘to be on one’s guard, look after,’ Anglo-Saxon weardian, ‘to guard, keep,’ English to ward, Old Icelandic varða, ‘to watch over, protect’ (also Gothic -wards, ‘keeper,’ in compounds). From Old Teutonic are borrowed Italian guardare and French garder, ‘to guard.’ Hence the primary meaning of the cognates is ‘to look after or take charge of some one,’ and so they are undoubtedly connected with the root of wahren.
-wärts, suffix in compounds, e.g., aufwärts, from Middle High German and Old High German -wërtes (ûfwërtes, ‘upwards’); properly an adverbial genit. of Middle High German and Old High German -wërt (Middle High German and Old High German ûfwërt, adverb, ‘upwards’). The latter word is used as an adjective in Old High German, but is now represented by -wärtig (Middle High German and Old High German -wërtic); compare Old High German inwërt, adjective ‘internal,’ Gothic andwairþs, adjective, ‘present.’ The word is never used independently; since it forms local adjectives in the sense of ‘existing,’ some are inclined to connect it with werden, ‘to arise.’
warum, adverb, ‘why, for what reason,’ from Middle High German and late Old High German warumbe (in earlier Old High German hwanta). The first part of the word seems to be the adverb wara, ‘whither,’ which is derived from hwa- (see wer).
Wärwolf, see Werwolf.
Warze, feminine, ‘wart, teat,’ from the equivalent Middle High German warze, Old High German warza, feminine; corresponding to Gothic *wartô, Old Icelandic varta, Anglo-Saxon wearte, English wart, and the equivalent Dutch wrat. The early history of Teutonic wartô- (from Aryan wardô-) is uncertain; some connect it with the Aryan root wrd, ‘to grow,’ from which Wurzel is derived, and regard Warze as ‘excrescence’ (compare Old Slovenian vrědŭ, ‘eruption’). Others prefer to compare it with Anglo-Saxon wearre, ‘weal,’ Latin verrûca, ‘wart,’ the rr of which may have arisen by the loss of an intermediate dental.
was, neuter of wer, ‘what’; compare Middle High German and Old High German waȥ (from hwaȥ); compare English what. Corresponding to Latin quod, Sanscrit kad.
waschen, verb, ‘to wash,’ from the equivalent Middle High German waschen (węschen), Old High German wascan, strong verb; compare Dutch wasschen, Anglo-Saxon wasčan, English to wash, Old Icelandic vaska (Gothic *waskan), ‘to wash.’ The sk of the old forms was originally only a part of the present stem, but was afterwards joined to the base; it may have been preceded by a dental. Teutonic *watska- probably based on the Teutonic nominal stem wat, ‘water’ (see Wasser); compare Old Irish usce, ‘water’ Irish faiscim, Welsh gwasgu, ‘I press,’ may, however, with equal reason, be connected with waschen.
Wase, feminine, see Base.
Wasen, masculine, ‘sod, turf, grass,’ from Middle High German wase, Old High German waso, masculine, ‘sward, damp soil or mound’; also Old High German wasal, neuter, ‘damp mound.’ The word is identical with Rasen, just as sprechen with English to speak; compare Anglo-Saxon węččęan, wręččęan, ‘to awake,’ and Anglo-Saxon wrîxl with Wechsel. Hence there existed Aryan roots with and without r; we must therefore regard wraso, waso, as the Teutonic base; for the area of diffusion see Rasen. From Old High German is derived French gazon, ‘sward.’
Wasser, neuter, ‘water,’ from the equivalent Middle High German waȥȥer, Old High German waȥȥar; compare Old Saxon watar, Dutch water, Anglo-Saxon wœter, English water; beside these West Teutonic forms in r (watar-o-) are found the forms in n, Gothic watô, Old Icelandic vatn, neuter, ‘water.’ The root wat is related by gradation to ut in Otter, and to wêt in Anglo-Saxon wœ̂t, English wet, North Frisian wiat, ‘damp, wet.’ The other Aryan languages have also corresponding graded forms with the same signification; Aryan ud in Greek ὕδωρ (Latin unda?), Old Slovenian voda, Sanscrit udán, ‘water, billow,’ udrín, ‘abounding in water, ​and also the root ud, ‘to moisten’ (with which the cognates of Modern High German waschen are connected?). Hence the Aryan root is ū̆d, wē̆d, wō̆d. The Aryan word corresponding to Latin aqua assumed in Teutonic (Gothic ahwa) the meaning ‘river.’ See Au.
Wat, feminine, ‘dress, garment,’ an archaic word, from the equivalent Middle High German and Old High German wât, feminine, which, with its Old Teutonic cognates, is referred to the Zend root wað, ‘to dress.’
Wate, feminine, ‘scoop-net, seine,’ from the equivalent Middle High German wate, feminine; allied to Old Icelandic vaðr, ‘fishing-line.’ Perhaps it is based on the root of Old High German giwëtan, Middle High German wëtan, ‘to combine, tie together.’
waten, verb, ‘to wade,’ from Middle High German waten, Old High German watan, strong verb, ‘to wade, go, stride'; a common Teutonic word; compare Dutch waden, Anglo-Saxon wadan, English to wade, Old Icelandic vaða, ‘to wade, press forwards’ (especially in water). The borrowed Italian term guadare has the same meaning, ‘to walk through water'; on the Old Icelandic noun vað, ‘ford,’ and the equivalent Dutch wadde, are based Italian guado, French gué, ‘ford, shallow part of a river'; compare Weed. The Teutonic root wad, ‘to stride, wade,’ is identical with the primitively cognate Latin vâdere, ‘to wade, ford,’ to which Latin vǎdum, ‘ford,’ is allied. The Aryan root wā̆dh has not been preserved in other languages.
Watte, feminine, ‘wadding, fleece,’ Modern High German only, from Dutch watte; allied to the equivalent English wad, French ouate, Italian ovate. The origin of the cognates is not to be sought for in Teutonic, since the Teutonic words have appeared only in modern times, and no other undoubted cognates are to be found in the group. The word was also borrowed in Romance.
Wau, masculine, ‘dyer's weed, weld,’ Modern High German only, from Dutch wouw (also in earlier Modern High German Waude); compare English weld. From Teutonic (Gothic *walda-) are derived French gaude and Spanish gualda. In non-Teutonic there are no cognates that might explain the early history of the word.
weben, verb, ‘to weave, entwine, fabricate,’ from Middle High German wëben, Old High German wëban, strong verb, ‘to weave, work, plait, spin’; compare Dutch weven, Anglo-Saxon wëfan, English to weave, and the equivalent Old Icelandic vefa. A widely developed Teutonic and Aryan root (web from Aryan webh), which testifies to the great antiquity of weaving among the Indo-Europeans. Compare the Sanscrit root vabh, ‘to weave,’ in ûrṇavâbhi, ‘spider,’ literally ‘woollen-weaver’ (also ubh, ‘to bind’), Greek ὑφαίνω, ‘to weave,’ ὕφος, ‘web.’ Compare Wabe, Wiebel, and Wespe.
Wechsel, masculine, ‘change, vicissitude,’ from Middle High German wëhsel, Old High German wëhsal, masculine, ‘change, barter, exchange, trade’; corresponding to Old Saxon wëhsal, ‘trade, money,’ Dutch wissel. A specifically German derivative with the suffix -sla, from the same root as Latin vī̆ces, ‘variation, alternation.’ The Aryan root wī̆k (Latin vī̆c-) appears to have had a variant wī̆g, which occurs in Woche and weihen. For Anglo-Saxon wrîxl see Wasen.
Weck, masculine, ‘wedge-shaped fine bread,’ from Middle High German węcke, Old High German węcki (from węggi), masculine, ‘wedge, wedge-shaped bread,’ corresponding to Dutch weg, ‘fine white bread,’ Anglo-Saxon węcǧ, English wedge, and the equivalent Old Icelandic veggr. Teutonic wagjo-, from pre-Teutonic waghyo-, is usually regarded as primitively cognate with Lithuanian vagis, ‘wedge, plug.’ For the terms applied to pastry compare Kipfel and Krapfe.
wecken, verb, ‘to wake, awake,’ from the equivalent Middle High German węcken, Old High German węcchen (from *wakjan), strong verb; corresponding to Gothic wakjan (uswakjan), Old Icelandic vekja, Anglo-Saxon węččęan, Dutch wekken, Old Saxon wękkian, ‘to awake.’ The common Teutonic wakjan has the form and meaning of an old causative, but presupposes a Teutonic *wëkan, which does not occur (the apparently primary Gothic wakan, strong verb, was originally weak). Sanscrit too has only the causative vâjáy, ‘to stir, incite,’ of the corresponding root; this meaning throws light on the Teutonic cognates; Latin vigil, ‘awake,’ and vegêre, ‘to be lively, excite,’ are also probably allied. The lately formed adjective Modern High German wach shows that from the primitively causative wogéy (Teutonic wakj-) numerous cognates might be gradually developed.
Wedel, masculine, ‘fan, sprinkling brush, tail, tuft, brush (of foxes),’ from the equivalent Middle High German wędel (wadel), Old High German wędil (wadal), masculine and neuter; also dialectic Wadel. The specifically High German word is a derivative of the root wê (see wehen), with the suffix -þlo; Wedel, literally ‘implement for blowing.’
weder, particle, in conjunction with noch, from Middle High German newëder, Old High German niwëdar; this is properly a neuter of wëdar, ‘each of two,’ niwëdar... noh, ‘neither of the two... nor.’ Compare the corresponding development of entweder, and also English either (literally ‘each of two’).
Weed, feminine, ‘horse-ford, Modern High German only, ​from the equivalent Dutch wed; allied to waten.
Weg, masculine, ‘way, road,’ from the equivalent Middle High German and Old High German wëc (genitive wëges), masculine; corresponding to Old Saxon, Dutch, and Anglo-Saxon weg, English way, and the equivalent Gothic wigs. A common Teutonic derivative of the Teutonic root weg, ‘to march, drive, ride’; Latin via, ‘way,’ is connected with the corresponding Latin vehere; compare Wagen and wegen. Allied to weg, adverb, ‘away, gone,’ from Middle High German enwëc for in wëc, literally ‘on the way’; corresponding to Dutch weg, Anglo-Saxon onwëg, English away. —
Wegbreite, ‘plantain,’ from the equivalent Middle High German wëgebreite, Old High German wëgabreita; compare Dutch wegbree, Anglo-Saxon wëgbrœ̂de, English weybread; an Old Teutonic term. —
wegen, preposition, ‘on account of, with regard to,’ from the equivalent Middle High German von...wëgen (with intervening genit.); see laut and kraft. —
Wegerich, masculine, ‘plantain,’ from the equivalent Middle High German wëgerī̆ch, Old High German wëgarī̆h, masculine; literally ‘sovereign of the road,’ formed from Teutonic rîk, ‘king’ (see Reich).
wegen, verb, in bewegen, ‘to move,’ from Middle High German wëgen, Old High German wëgan, strong verb, ‘to move,’ with which the corresponding causative, Old High German węgen, węcken (from *wagjan), ‘to cause to move,’ was confused; corresponding to Gothic gawigan, ‘to move.’ The primary meaning of the widely diffused Aryan root wegh, preserved in Wagen and Weg, was ‘to move on, march, drive, ride,’ from which the signification ‘to carry, move,’ was afterwards developed in Teutonic. Compare Sanscrit root vah ‘to proceed, drive, ride,’ and the equivalent Latin vehere, Old Slovenian vesti.
weh, interjection, ‘woe! alas!’ from the equivalent Middle High German and Old High German wê; corresponding to Gothic wai, Anglo-Saxon wâ, English woe. From the Teutonic interjection wai is derived the equivalent Italian and Spanish guai (French ouais). As in the case of Latin vae (Greek οἷ), weh is to be regarded as an instinctive sound. The substantive Weh, neuter, ‘plaint, misery, woe,’ seems to be based on the interjection; compare Old Saxon, Old High German, and Middle High German wê (genitive wêwes), and Old High German wêwo, masculine, wêva, feminine, ‘woe, pain, sorrow,’ and the borrowed Italian guajo, ‘sorrow.’ See weinen and wenig.
wehen, verb, ‘to blow,’ from the equivalent Middle High German wœjen (wœn), Old High German wâjan (wâen), weak verb; corresponding to Dutch waaijen, Anglo-Saxon wâwan, Gothic waian, ‘to blow.’ The originally strong (as in Gothic and Anglo-Saxon) verbal root wê, ‘to blow,’ is found in other Aryan languages; compare Greek ἄημι, ‘to blow’ (root ϝη), Old Slovenian vějati, ‘to blow,’ Sanscrit root vâ, ‘to blow.’ Allied to Wind.
Wehr, feminine, ‘defence, resistance, protection,’ from Middle High German węr, Old High German węrî, feminine, ‘defence, fortification’; allied like Modern High German Wehr, neuter, ‘dam, weir,’ late Middle High German węr, neuter, ‘weir,’ to wehren, ‘to protect, defend; hinder, prevent, oppose, forbid.’ This verb is from Middle High German węrn, węrgen, Old High German węrian, węren, weak verb, ‘to hinder, protect, defend’; compare Gothic warjan, ‘to forbid, hinder,’ Old Saxon werian, ‘to hinder.’ On account of the meaning, its connection with wahren (root wor, ‘to look on,’ in Greek όράω) is not so apparent as its primitive kinship with the Sanscrit root vṛ, ‘to check, restrain, hinder.’
Weib, neuter, ‘woman, wife,’ from the equivalent Middle High German and Old High German wîp (b), neuter; corresponding to Old Saxon wîf, Dutch wijf, Anglo-Saxon wîf, English wife. If is wanting in Gothic, certainly not by accident (the word used is qinô, qêns). The term wîbo- is specifically Teutonic, while Gothic qinô is prehistorically connected with Greek γυνή, Sanscrit gnâ, ‘woman.’ Its kinship with Greek οἴφειν is dubious; it is more probably related to Sanscrit vip, ‘inspirited, inwardly excited’ (of priests), to which Old High German weibôn, ‘to stagger, be unstable,’ is allied. Hence the Teutons must have coined the term Weib (wîbo- from wîpó-), because in woman they venerated sanctum aliquid et providum. In that case the remarkable gender might perhaps be explained as ‘inspiration, something inspired.’
Weibel, masculine, ‘sergeant, apparitor,’ from the equivalent Middle High German weibel, Old High German weibil, masculine; allied to Middle High German weiben, ‘to move to and fro.’ The variant Webel (in Feldwebel) is derived from Low German or East Middle German.
weich, adjective, ‘soft, tender, impressible,’ from the equivalent Middle High German weich, Old High German weih (hh); corresponding to Old Saxon wêk, Dutch week, Anglo-Saxon wâc, Old Icelandic veikr, veykr (whence English weak), ‘soft, tender.’ A derivative of the root of weichen (hence weich, literally ‘yielding, giving way’).
Weichbild, neuter, ‘outskirts of a town, precincts,’ from Middle High German wîchbilde, neuter, ‘outskirts of a town, jurisdiction over a town and its precincts.’ The origin of this compound, first occurring in the 13th century, is disputed. The assumption that it signifies literally ‘image of a saint’ (compare weihen for Middle High German wîch, ‘holy’), does not suffice to explain the actual meaning. The suggested ​literal meaning, ‘local image,’ is equally unsatisfactory, although Middle High German wîch- in Middle High German wîchgrâve, ‘municipal judge,’ and wîchvride, ‘municipal peace,’ certainly appears in the compound; compare Old Saxon wîc, ‘town, place,’ Dutch wijk, ‘quarter of a town,’ Old High German wîh(hh), ‘town, city.’ The signification of the second component cannot be explained from Modern High German Bild (Middle High German bilede). There existed beside Old High German and Middle High German bil-lîch, ‘suitable, right, an Old High German *bilida, ‘law, jurisdiction,’ which appears only in Middle High German unbilde (see Unbill); hence Middle High German wîchbilde meant first of all ‘municipal jurisdiction,’ and then ‘municipal territory’ (compare Sprengel).
Weichen, plural, ‘groin’; the term was first recorded in the 14th century, denoting the tender parts of the body between the ribs and loins.
weichen, verb, ‘to yield, give away, waver,’ from the equivalent Middle High German wîchen, Old High German wîhhan, strong verb; corresponding to the equivalent Old Icelandic ýkva, víkja, Old Saxon wîkan, Dutch wijken. The Teutonic root wī̆q, ‘to yield,’ literally ‘to make room for some one, give way,’ appears also in Wechsel and weich. Its earlier form wī̆g (in Sanscrit vij, ‘to yield, flee’) is a variant of wī̆k, which is indicated by Latin vices, ‘change,’ and especially by Greek εἴκω, ‘to yield.’ Compare also Woche.
Weichsel, feminine, ‘agriot cherry,’ from the equivalent Middle High German wîhsel, Old High German wîhsila, feminine. The Teutonic character of the word is undoubted; in spite of its absence in the other dialects, it is probably derived from the Old Teutonic period (hence Italian visciola?). It is connected with Old Slovenian višnja, Lithuanian vyszna, ‘agriot cherry.’ The name of the river Vistula, ‘Weichsel’ (Latin Vistula, Anglo-Saxon Wistle), has nothing to do with the word, nor with Weichselzopf, masculine, ‘elflock, plica Polonica.’ The latter is said to have come from Poland, where matted hair is often produced by some disease; compare Polish wieszczyce, ‘elflock.’
Weid, see Waid.
Weide (1.), feminine, ‘willow,’ from the equivalent Middle High German wîde, Old High German wîda, feminine; compare Old Icelandic vîðer, Anglo-Saxon wîðig, English withy (isolated Middle German and Low German dialects seem to lengthen the old ĭ in the accented syllable). Prehistoric wī̆t-, ‘willow,’ is indicated also by the equivalent Greek ἱτέα and Lit. żilwytis, ‘grey willow.’ An Aryan root wī̆, ‘pliant, capable of being twisted,’ has been assumed, and the word compared also with Latin vîtis, ‘vine, tendril,’ Old Slovenian viti (Lithuanian výti), ‘to turn, plait.’
Weide (2.), feminine, ‘pasture, pasture-land, from Middle High German weide, Old High German weida, feminine, ‘fodder, food, place for grazing, the search for food and fodder (chase, fishing).’ Allied to Old Icelandic veiðr, ‘chase, fishing,’ Anglo-Saxon wâð, ‘chase,’ and also to Modern High German weiden, ‘to graze, pasture,’ Middle High German weiden, Old High German weidôn, ‘to forage’; Middle High German wiedeman, ‘hunter,’ Modern High German Waidmann (compare the proper name Weidmann with Jäger, and also Weidner, from Middle High German weidenœre, ‘hunter, sportsman’). If the cognates be traced back to a root wai, ‘to forage,’ Latin vê-nâri, ‘to chase, hunt,’ may be connected with it; compare also the Sanscrit root vî, ‘to fly at, attack something, take food.’ Compare farther Eingeweide, to which Modern High German, ausweiden is allied.
Weiderich, feminine, ‘willow herb, Modern High German only; so called from its willow-like leaves; the term is formed like Wegerich and Hederich.
weidlich, adjective, ‘brave, stout, vigorous,’ from Middle High German weidelī̆ch, weidenī̆ch, ‘lively, pert, distinguished, grand’; literally ‘befitting the chase,’ from Weide (2); see the latter also for Weidmann.
weifen, verb, ‘to wind, reel,’ from Middle High German weifen, weak verb, ‘to swing, wind on a reel,’ a factitive of Middle High German wîfen, strong verb, ‘to swing, wind.’ It is based on a Teutonic root wī̆p, ‘to turn,’ which appears also in Gothic weipan, ‘to wreathe’ (waips, ‘wreath’); with this root Latin vibrare, ‘to brandish, vibrate,’ is primitively cognate. Allied to Wipfel and Wimpel.
Weigand, masculine, ‘warrior, hero,’ from the equivalent Middle High German and Old High German wîgant, masculine; not an inherited term, but borrowed in the last century from Middle High German literature. It is a West Teutonic form for ‘warrior’; compare Anglo-Saxon wîgend, Old Saxon wîgand; properly a present participle of the nearly obsolete (in West Teutonic) root wī̆g, ‘to fight’ (compare Gothic weihan and *wigan, strong verb, ‘to fight’). This is identical with the Aryan root wī̆k, ‘to be strong, bold,’ which appears in Latin vincere, ‘to conquer,’ Old Irish fichim, ‘to fight,’ as well as in Old Slovenian vĕkŭ, ‘strength’ (equivalent to Old Icelandic veig, ‘strength’); compare Lithuanian wikrus, ‘brisk.’ Allied to weigern and Geweih.
weigern, verb, ‘to refuse, deny,’ from Middle High German weigern, Old High German weigarôn, ‘to oppose, refuse’; allied to Old High German weigar, ‘foolhardy,’ literally perhaps ‘obstinate, resisting.’ ​This is connected with the Teutonic root wī̆g, ‘to fight,’ mentioned under the preceding word.
Weihe, feminine (Weih, masculine), ‘kite,’ from the equivalent Middle High German wîe, Old High German wîe (wîjo), masculine; a specifically High German word (compare Dutch wouw?), Connected with the root wī̆, ‘to chase,’ mentioned under Weide (2)?. In that case Weih would mean literally ‘hunter, sportsman.’
weihen, verb, ‘to consecrate, dedicate,’ from Middle High German and Old High German wîhen (from *wîhjan), weak verb, ‘to sanctify’; a derivative of the Old Teutonic adjective wîho-, ‘sacred, holy’; compare Middle High German wîch (nominative wîher), Old High German and Old Saxon wîh, Gothic weihs. The adjective has also been preserved in Weihnachten, from Middle High German wîhen-nahten, which is properly a fusion of Middle High German ze wîhen nahten (compare Mitternacht). Nacht (which see) has preserved in this compound of the heathen period the meaning ‘day’ (the old Teutons celebrated their winter feast from December 26 to January 6); among the Anglo-Saxons Beda transmitted the term môdra niht, ‘the mothers' nights.’ For the adoption of the old word in the service of Christianity, compare Ostern (also taufen?). Moreover, English Yule preserves another Old Teutonic designation of the same festival; compare Anglo-Saxon giuli (*gŷle), Gothic jiuleis (Old Icelandic ýler), ‘January,’ Old Icelandic jól, Anglo-Saxon geól, ‘Christmas.’
Weihrauch, masculine, ‘incense,’ from Middle High German wîchrouch (wîhrouch), Old High German wîhrouh, masculine, literally ‘holy perfume.’ Weichbild has no connection with these words.
Weiher, masculine, ‘fish-pond,’ from the equivalent Middle High German wîwer, wîwœre, Old High German wîwâri, wîâri, masculine (Old High German also ‘stable’); corresponding to Old Low German wîweri. Borrowed in the pre-Old High German, probably in the Roman period, from Latin vîvârium, ‘park, preserve, fish-pond’; corresponding to French vivier (Dutch vijver), Italian vivajo, ‘fish-pond.’ Compare also Weiler.
weil, conjunction, ‘because,’ from late Middle High German (rare) wîle; in classical Middle High German die wîle, conjunction, ‘so long as, during, while, since, because’ (hence Modern High German dieweil); Old High German dia wîla unz, ‘so long as’; properly accusative of Weile. —
weiland, adverb, ‘formerly, of yore,’ from the equivalent Middle High German wîlent, wîlen; the t form is a recent extension of the earlier word (Dutch wijlen). Based on Old High German hwîlôm, ‘at times,’ dative plural of Weile, feminine, ‘while, space of time, leisure.’ The latter is based on Middle High German wîle, Old High German wîla (hwîl), feminine, ‘time, period of time, hour’; corresponding to Old Saxon hwîl, hwîla, ‘time,’ Dutch wîjl, English while, Gothic hweila, ‘time.’ The verb weilen, ‘to stay, tarry, sojourn,’ from Middle High German and Old High German wîlē̆n, ‘to stop, stay, sojourn,’ in connection with Old Icelandic hvíla, ‘bed,’ hvíld, ‘rest,’ suggests that Weile meant literally ‘resting time.’ It has been compared with the Latin root qui (quiê), ‘to rest’ in quietus, tranquillus, as well as with Old Slovenian počiti, ‘to rest’; Greek καιρός, ‘point of time,’ is perhaps cognate.
Weiler, masculine, ‘village, hamlet,’ from Middle High German wîler, masculine, ‘small farm, hamlet.’ Old High German wîlâri occurs only as the second component in compound names of places (e.g., Brûwîlâri, equivalent to Brauweiler). Middle Latin vîllâre, ‘farm’ (French villier), was adopted in local names, just like Latin villa (Old High German -wíla, e.g., in Rotwíla, equivalent to Rotweil); compare French ville, ‘town.’ The word seems to have been borrowed contemporaneously with Weiher.
Wein, masculine, ‘wine,’ from the equivalent Middle High German and Old High German wîn, masculine; corresponding to Old Saxon wîn, masculine and neuter, Dutch wijn, masculine, Anglo-Saxon wîn, English wine, and the equivalent Gothic wein, neuter. There is no phonological evidence to show that the word was borrowed. The assumption that it was adopted from Latin vînum (equivalent to Gothic wein, neuter), or rather from Low Latin vînus, masculine (equivalent to Old High German wîn, masculine), is probable from the accounts of ancient writers. The period of adoption was perhaps the first century B.C., hence the early diffusion among the Old Teutonic dialects. An earlier connection of the Teutonic with the Latin word is improbable (Latin v equivalent to Teutonic w in old loanwords; compare Pfau, Weiher, Weiler, with Vers and Brief). With regard to the Southern culture of the vine, compare the following words borrowed from Latin — Kelter (also Presse), Kelch, Lauer, Spund, Most, Torkel, Trichter, and Winzer. Note, too, Swiss wümmen, Old High German windemôn (older *wintimmôd), equivalent to Latin vindêmiare; Swiss Wümmet, from Old High German windemôd, *wintimmôd, equivalent to Latin vindêmiae (whence also the equivalent Old Irish fínime, ‘vintage,’ also fín, ‘wine’).
weinen, verb, ‘to weep, cry,’ from the equivalent Middle High German weinen, Old High German weinôn; compare Dutch weenen, Anglo-Saxon wânian, Old Icelandic veina, ‘to weep.’ Probably a derivative of the Teutonic interjection wai (see weh); hence weinen, literally ‘to lament’ (the origin of the word would be similar to that of ächzen). It is also possible that Gothic qainôn, ‘to weep, is based in the other dialects on wai, ‘woe.’
​ weis, adjective, in einem, etwas weis machen, ‘to make one believe, hoax a person,’ from Old High German, late Middle High German einen wîs machen, ‘to inform a person, instruct him’ (in Modern High German in an ironical sense). Compare Middle High German and Old High German wîs tuon, ‘to inform, instruct.’ Allied to weise, adjective, ‘wise, prudent, cunning,’ From Middle High German and Old High German wîs (also Middle High German wîse, Old High German wîsi), adjective, ‘intelligible, experienced, acquainted with, learned, wise.’ A common Teutonic adjective; compare Gothic weis, ‘knowing,’ Old Saxon and Anglo-Saxon wîs, ‘wise, knowing,’ English wise, Dutch wijs. The primary form of the word was a verbal adjective from wissen (wîso- for wîtto-). Allied to the following word.
Weise, feminine, ‘manner, mode, way,’ from Middle High German wîse, Old High German wîsa, feminine, ‘method’; corresponding to the equivalent Anglo-Saxon wîse, English wise, Dutch wijze, Old Saxon wîsa. From this West Teutonic word (in Old Icelandic vísa) the equivalent Romance cognates, Italian guisa, French guise, are derived. Teutonic wîsô-n- seems, like weise, to be derived from the Teutonic root wī̆t, ‘to know’; hence Weise, literally ‘knowledge’?. See Art. — The suffix -weise (e.g., in teilweise) has been developed in Modern High German in connection with Middle High German phrases, such as in rëgenes wîs, ‘like rain.’
Weisel, masculine, ‘queen bee,’ from the equivalent Middle High German wîsel, masculine, literally ‘leader, guide.’ Allied to weisen, verb, ‘to show, direct, point,’ from Middle High German wîsen weak (strong) verb, Old High German wîsen (from *wîsjan), weak verb, ‘to show, direct, instruct’; a derivative of weise (hence literally ‘to make wise’).
weissagen, verb, ‘to foretell, prophesy, predict,’ from the equivalent Middle High German wîssagen, Old High German wîssagôn, weak verb; it is not organically connected with sagen. Based on Old High German wîȥȥago (wîȥago), ‘prophet,’ a derivative of the Teutonic root wī̆t, ‘to know’ (compare Anglo-Saxon wîtga, ‘prophet’). This form was corrupted to wîssagôn in the Old High German period by connecting it with wîs, ‘wise,’ and sago, ‘speaker,’ or rather with Old High German forasago (Old Low German wâr-sago), ‘prophet.’ Old High German wîȥȥago is properly a substantive formed from the Teutonic adjective *wîtag, ‘knowing, intelligible, wise’ Anglo-Saxon (wîtig).
Weistum, neuter, ‘legal precedent, record,’ from late Middle High German (rare) wîstuonm, masculine and neuter, ‘sentence, instruction (to the jury),’ literally ‘wisdom’; allied to weise (compare English wisdom).
weiß, adjective, ‘white, blank,’ from the equivalent Middle High German and Old High German wîȥ (from hwîȥ), adjective; corresponding to Gothic hweits, Old Icelandic hvítr, Anglo-Saxon and Old Saxon hwít, Dutch wit, English white. This common Teutonic term (hwîto-) is based on an Aryan root kwī̆d, kwī̆t, from which are derived Sanscrit çvit, ‘to be white, to shine’ (so too çvêtá, çvitrá, çvitna, ‘white’), Zend spaẹta, ‘white,’ Old Slovenian světŭ, ‘light,’ and Lithuanian szvaitýti, ‘to make bright.’ Gothic hwaiteis (Modern High German Weizen, ‘wheat’), is related by gradation.
weit, adjective, ‘wide, broad, ample,’ from the equivalent Middle High German and Old High German wît; corresponding to Old Saxon and Anglo-Saxon wîd, English wide, Dutch wijd, Old Icelandic víðr, ‘roomy, extended, spacious.’ Allied to Sanscrit vîtá, ‘straight’?. From its form Teutonic vî-do- seems to be a participle derivative of a root wī̆.
Weizen, masculine, ‘wheat,’ from Middle High German weitze, Old High German weizzi, masculine. The dialectic (unknown only in Bavarian?) variant Weißen (Swiss, Upper Swabian, Wetterau, Upper Hessian, Hennegau, and Thuringian) is based on Middle High German weiȥe, Old High German weiȥi (tz and sz interchanged in this word on account of the older inflectional interchange of tj and ti; compare reizen and heizen); hence Weißbrod as well as Weizen?. Corresponding to the equivalent Gothic hwaiteis (dative hwaitja), Old Icelandic hveite, Anglo-Saxon hwœ̂te, English wheat, Dutch weit, Old Saxon hwêti. Lithuanian kvëtẏs, ‘grains of wheat,’ is borrowed from Teutonic. Weizen is rightly regarded, on account of the white flour, as a derivative of weiß (compare Sanscrit çvitnyá çvêtá, ‘white’).
welch, pronoun, ‘which, what,’ from Middle High German wëlch, wëlich, interrogative pronoun, Old High German wë-, wie-lī̆h (hh and h), interrogative pronoun, ‘who, which’; corresponding to Gothic hwileiks (hwêleiks), Old Saxon hwilik, Dutch welk, Anglo-Saxon hwylč, English which. A common Teutonic derivative, from the pronominal stem hwe- (see wer) and the suffix lîko-, ‘constituted’ (see gleich and solch); hence welch, literally ‘as constituted.’
Welf, masculine, ‘whelp, cub,’ from the equivalent Middle High German and Old High German wëlf (earlier hwëlf, masculine and neuter); corresponding to Old Icelandic hvelpr, Anglo-Saxon hwëlp (English whelp). This Teutonic word hwelpo-, which was used at an early period, especially of ‘cubs,’ has no cognates in the non-Teutonic languages. Wolf is not allied.
welk, adjective, ‘withered, faded,’ from Middle High German and Old High German wëlc (wëlch), ‘moist, mild, lukewarm, faded’; peculiar to High German; connected with Middle English welken, English to welk, and Wolke. The primary meaning of the Teutonic root welk, from Aryan welg, is ‘to be moist,’ as is indicated also by Old Slovenian vlaga, ‘moistness,’ vlûgûkû, ‘moist,’ Lithuanian vìlgyti, ‘to ​moisten,’ Lettic wélgans, wálgans, ‘moist,’ unless these are more closely allied to Anglo-Saxon wlacu, wlœc, ‘moist.’ From a form *walki, connected with Old High German wëlk, French gauche, ‘left,’ is usually derived.
Welle, feminine, ‘wave, billow, swell,’ from the equivalent Middle High German wëlle, Old High German wëlla, feminine; a word peculiar to High German, but found, however, in the Old Teutonic vocabulary. It is primitively allied to the equivalent Old Slovenian vlŭna, Lithuanian wilnìs, and is based like these on an Aryan root wel, ‘to turn, roll,’ which appears in Old High German wëllan and wallen. Compare Latin volvere, Greek εἴλύειν, ‘to roll,’ as well as Sanscrit ûrmi, equivalent to Old High German walm, Anglo-Saxon wylm, ‘billow.’
Wels, masculine, ‘shad’ (fish), from the equivalent late Middle High German wels. Its connection with Walfisch (stem hwalo-) is not impossible, if Middle High German wels is based on Old High German *węlis (from *hwalis-); compare Old High German węlira, ‘whale.’
welsch, adjective, ‘foreign, outlandish (especially. Italian or French),’ from Middle High German węlsch (węlhisch, walhisch), ‘Romance, French, Italian,’ Old High German walhisc, ‘Romance’; a derivative of Middle High German Walch, Old High German Walh, ‘one of the Latin race.’ The corresponding Anglo-Saxon Wealh was applied to the ‘Kelt,’ and this is the literal meaning of the word (compare the Keltic tribal name Volcae, on which Teutonic Walho- is based; it was applied to the Latin race when they occupied Gaul, which had been formerly inherited by the Kelts. Compare further Walnuß and the English local names Wales (Anglo-Saxon Wălas) and Cornwall.
Welt, feminine, ‘world, society,’ from the equivalent Middle High German wëlt, usually wërlt, werëlt, Old High German wëralt (worolt), feminine; the Middle High German and Old High German word has also the earlier signification ‘age, saeculum.’ Compare Old Saxon wërold, ‘earthly life, age'; Dutch wereld, Anglo-Saxon weorold, worold, English world, have the Modern High German meaning. The double sense ‘world' and ‘age' can hardly be explained from one primary form; the latter meaning is linked with Old Icelandic ǫld, Anglo-Saxon yld, ‘age'; the former seems to be based on a collective sense, ‘humanity,’ which follows from Old Low German ęldi, Anglo-Saxon ylde, Old Icelandic elder, ‘men.’ The first part of the compound (Gothic waír-aldus) is Teutonic wër, ‘man, person’ (see Werwolf). Welt, like Himmel and Hölle is peculiar to Teutonic.
Wende, feminine, ‘turn, turning-point, change,’ from Middle High German węnde, Old High German węntî, feminine, ‘boundary, turning back, turn.’ —
Wendeltreppe, feminine, ‘winding stairs,’ based on the equivalent late Middle High German węndelstein. —
wenden, verb, ‘to turn, change,’ from Middle High German węnden, Old High German węnten (from *wantjan), weak verb, ‘to overturn, cause to retrograde, hinder.’ Compare Old Saxon węndian, Gothic wandjan, Anglo-Saxon węndan, ‘to turn,’ English to wend, Dutch wenden, ‘to change’; a factitive of winden. Hence auswendig, ‘by heart,’ Middle High German ûȥwęndic, ‘externally, abroad’ (etwas auswendig können is a Modern High German phrase, and is here used in the sense of ‘externally,’ i.e., ‘without looking into a book’); inwendig, ‘internally,’ from Middle High German innęwendec. —
gewandt, adjective, ‘skilled, adroit, dexterous,’ from Middle High German gewant, literally ‘directed to the circumstances, appropriate to the circumstances,’ i.e., ‘constituted somehow or other.’
wenig, adjective, ‘little, few,’ from Middle High German wênec, weinec (g), Old High German wênag weinag, adjective. As a derivative of the Teutonic root wai (see weh and weinen), the adjective signified primarily in Old High German and Middle High German ‘deplorable, lamentable, unfortunate’ (so too Gothic wainags); from ‘unfortunate,’ the Middle High German ‘weak, small, trifling, little’ is derived.
wenn, conjunction, ‘if, when,’ from Middle High German węnne, wanne; identical with wann. Compare the following word.
wer, pronoun, ‘who,’ from Middle High German and Old High German wër (earlier hwër), interrogative pronoun; the nominative singular preserves the r as a representative of old s; compare Gothic hwas, ‘who,’ also Anglo-Saxon hwâ, English who. The Teutonic stem of the interrogative pronoun was hwa-, hwe-, from Aryan ko, ke, which is found in non-Teutonic in Latin quo-d, Greek πότερος, (κότερος), Lithuanian and Sanscrit kas, ‘who.’ Hence wann, weder, welch, wenn, wie, and wo. Further details belong to grammar.
werben, verb, ‘to sue (for), solicit,’ from Middle High German wërben (wërven), Old High German wërban, wërvan (earlier hwërfan), strong verb, ‘to turn, walk to and fro, strive hard, make an effort, be active, be doing something, accomplish something.’ For the evolution of meaning of Modern High German werben, compare Latin ambire. The literal sense of the Teutonic root hwërf is ‘to move to and fro,’ as is shown by Wirbel. Compare Old Saxon hwërƀan, ‘to walk to and fro,’ Dutch werven, ‘to woo,’ Gothic hwaírban (and hwarbôn), ‘to wander.’ A corresponding Aryan root qerp (kerp) is not found in non-Teutonic. Compare Werft (2).
Werd, equivalent to Werder.
werden, verb, ‘to become, grow, get,’ ​from the equivalent Middle High German wërden, Old High German wërdan; a common Teutonic verb; compare Gothic waírþan, Anglo-Saxon weorþan (obsolete in English), Dutch worden, ‘to become.’ The Teutonic strong verbal root werþ has no corresponding and equivalent Aryan wert, yet it is undoubtedly connected with Latin verto, ‘to turn,’ Old Slovenian vrŭtěti, vratiti, ‘to turn,’ Sanscrit vṛt, ‘to turn, roll’; ‘to turn’ developed in Teutonic into ‘to become, arise’ (compare Sanscrit sam vṛt, ‘to arise’). The earlier meaning ‘to turn’ is rightly supposed to exist in the suffix -wärts (which see), as well as in Middle High German wirtel, ‘spindle ring,’ equivalent to Old Slovenian vrěteno, ‘distaff.’
Werder, masculine, ‘small island in a river,’ from Middle High German węrt (d), masculine, ‘island, peninsula,’ Old High German węrid, warid, feminine, ‘island.’ Corresponding to Anglo-Saxon waroð, ‘bank, shore,’ with Anglo-Saxon wœr, Old Icelandic ver, neuter, ‘sea’ (for the meaning compare Au). Its primitive kinship with Sanscrit vâr, ‘water,’ is not certain.
werfen, verb, ‘to cast, throw,’ from the equivalent Middle High German wërfen, Old High German wërfan (wërpfan); a common Teutonic strong verb; compare Gothic waírpan, Old Icelandic verpa, Anglo-Saxon weorpan, English to warp, Dutch werpen, Old Saxon wërpan, ‘to throw.’ From Teutonic are borrowed Old French guerpir, French déguerpir, ‘to leave in the lurch.’ The Teutonic root werp contained in these words is based upon werq, from pre-Teutonic werg (compare Wolf with Greek λύκος, fünf with quinque, and vier with quattnor); the primitively allied Sanscrit vṛj, ‘to throw down,’ and Old Slovenian vrŭgą (vrěšti), ‘to throw,’ have a guttural sound. Allied to the following word and to Würfel.
Werft (1.), masculine, ‘woof,’ from Middle High German and Old High German warf, neuter (compare Modern High German Hüfte from Middle High German huf), ‘warp, yarn, or thread for the warp.’ Corresponding to the equivalent Anglo-Saxon wearp, English warp, Old Icelandic varp, which are usually derived from the verb werfen. Lithuanian verpti, ‘to spin,’ is perhaps derived from the German word.
Werft (2.), £. and neuter, ‘wharf,’ Modern High German only; borrowed from Low German, like many nautical expressions; compare Dutch werf (scheepstimmerwerf), English wharf, and the equivalent Swedish varf. The word cannot, on account of the consonants, be connected with werfen. The cognates signify literally ‘work-place,’ and are related to the verbal root of werben (which see).
Werg, neuter, ‘tow, oakum,’ from the equivalent Middle High German wërch, wërc (for the double form compare Storch), Old High German wërah (hh), and wërc, neuter; also Old High German âwirihhi, âwurihhi, neuter, ‘tow, stuppa.’ The Old High German and Middle High German forms of Werg are identical with those of Werf, hence the former is usually derived from the latter; this, however, does not explain the development of meaning. Old High German âwurihhi, ‘tow,’ may be connected with Werf and wirken, since it means ‘the refuse produced by work.’ Perhaps the simple word was developed from the compound.
Wergeld, neuter, from the equivalent Middle High German wërgëld, ‘fine for slaughter,’ literally ‘man's, person’s money.’ For the first component compare Werwolf, Welt.
Werk, neuter, ‘work, deed, production,’ from the equivalent Middle High German wërc (wërch), Old High German wërc, wërah (hh), neuter; for the double forms compare the cognate Werg. Based on a common Teutonic werko-, ‘work,’ which is attested by Old Icelandic verk, Anglo-Saxon weorc, English work, Dutch and Old Saxon wërk. For further details concerning the root, to which Greek ἔργον is allied, see wirken.
Wermut, masculine, ‘wormwood, bitterness,’ from the equivalent Middle High German wërmuot, wërmüete, feminine and neuter, Old High German wërmuota (wormuota), feminine. There is no clear etymological connection with Wurm, to which this uncompounded word (compare Armut) is instinctively allied (compare English wormwood, from Anglo-Saxon wërmôd, wormôd). Its relation to warm too is not certain.
Wert (1.), masculine, equivalent to Werder, ‘river island.’
Wert (2.), masculine, ‘worth, value, price,’ from the equivalent Middle High German wërt (d), Old High German wërd, neuter, ‘price, costly articles, splendour’; compare Old Saxon wërð, ‘hero, reward,’ Gothic waírþs, ‘worth, price'; an adjective used as a substantive. Based on the adjective wert, ‘worth, dear,’ from Middle High German wërt (d), Old High German wërd, ‘costing a certain price, saleable at,’ then absolutely ‘of high worth, splendid, distinguished.’ Corresponding to Gothic waírþs, ‘worthy, fit,’ Anglo-Saxon weorþ, and English worth. On account of its meaning its connection with werden is improbable. Lithuanian wertas and Old Slovenian vrĕdŭ, with which it is sometimes compared, are probably Teutonic loanwords. It may be related to the Aryan root wor, ‘to regard, contemplate’ (see wahren), of which wert might be a participle derivative in the sense of ‘esteemed'; see also Ware.
Werwolf, masculine, ‘werewolf,’ from the equivalent Middle High German wërwolf (not recorded in Old High German). It is undoubtedly based on an Old Teutonic word; compare Anglo-Saxon wërewulf, English ​werewolf. From the Anglo-Saxon word is derived Middle Latin guerulfus, Old French garou, whence by tautology Modern French loup-garou, ‘werewolf.’ The presupposed Old Teutonic werowulfo- means literally ‘man-wolf,’ i.e., a man who roams about in the form of a wolf (Greek λυκάνθρωπος). The first component is Old High German, Old Saxon, and Anglo-Saxon wër (Gothic waír), masculine, ‘man,’ primitively cognate with Latin vir, Sanscrit vîras, ‘man.’
Wesen, neuter, ‘being, creature, nature, disposition, manners,’ from Middle High German wësen, neuter, ‘sojourn, domestic affairs, manner of living, quality, situation.’ An infinit. used as a substantive; Middle High German wësen, Old High German wësan (to which the Modern High German preterite forms of the verb sein are allied), strong verb; corresponding to Gothic wisan, ‘to be, tarry, stay’ (Anglo-Saxon wësan; English was, belong to the sphere of grammar). The verbal rootves, ‘to be, abide,’ to which währen is allied, is found in non-Teutonic, in the Sanscrit root vas, ‘to stay, tarry, pass the night.’ — Allied to wesentlich adjective, ‘essential,’ from the equivalent Middle High German wësentîch (wësenlîch); the t is excrescent.
Wespe, feminine, ‘wasp,’ from the equivalent Middle High German węspe, earlier węfse, feminine (masculine), Old High German węfsa (earlier wafsa), feminine; a genuine Teutonic word; compare Anglo-Saxon wœfs, wœps, masculine, English wasp. Hence we must probably assume a Teutonic wafs-, beside which Teutonic wabis-, wabit-, is presupposed by Bavarian wębes, East Thuringian wêpschen, wêwetzchen (in West Thuringian wispel). Aryan wops- (wobhes-), which points to the verbal root weben (see Wiebel), is almost as widely diffused in the Aryan languages as Hornisse; OBret. guohi, ‘wasps’ (from wops-), Lithuanian vapsà, ‘gadfly,’ Old Slovenian vosa, ‘wasp,’ and probably also by gradation Latin vespa. In the Middle High German period a form vespe was borrowed from Latin vespa; on the other hand, French guêpe is probably due on account of its initial sound to German influence.
Weste, feminine, ‘vest, waistcoat,’ adopted as a current term in the last century. Since the word is unknown to the older dialects, it must have been borrowed from French veste (Latin vestis); had it, however, appeared earlier in the Old Teutonic dialects, it would have been primitively allied to Latin vestis. The modern dialectic form, Middle High German wester, ‘christening gown’ (found especially in compounds), is based on the same Aryan root as Latin vestis. With the Aryan root wes, ‘to clothe’ (equivalent to Sanscrit vas, Greek ἔννυμι for *ϝεσ-νυμς, Latin ves-tis), are also connected Gothic wasjan, ‘to dress,’ Old High German and Anglo-Saxon węrian, English to wear.
Westen, masculine, ‘west,’ from the equivalent. Mid High German wësten, Old High German wëstan, neuter; also Modern High German West, which is found in Old High German and Middle High German only as the first part of compounds (e.g., Old High German Wästfâlo, Middle High German Wëstvâle, ‘Westphalian’). Compare Dutch west (in compounds), English west (whence French ouest), Old Icelandic vestr, neuter. The explanation of the cognates is difficult, especially on account of the old term Visegothae, ‘Visigoths, West Goths,’ transmitted by Latin. One is inclined to connect the word with Latin ves-per, Greek ἑσπέρα, ‘evening,’ and to regard it as the ‘evening quarter’; compare the corresponding explanations of Süd and Ost (see also Abend).
wett, adjective, ‘equal, even,’ from late Middle High German wętte, adjective, ‘paid off.’ A recent derivative of the noun Wette, feminine, ‘bet, wager,’ Middle High German wętte, węte, węt (tt), neuter and feminine, Old High German wętti, węti, neuter, ‘mortgage contract, legal obligation, pledge, stake (in a bet), compensation, fine’ (the last three meanings first occur in Middle High German). Compare Anglo-Saxon wędd, Old Icelandic veð, Gothic wadi, neuter, ‘pledge, earnest.’ From Old Teutonic wadjo-, the Romance cognates, Italian gaggio and French gage, ‘pledge,’ are borrowed. The following are also primitively allied to Teutonic Wette; Latin văs (vadis), ‘surety,’ vădimonium, ‘bail, security,’ Lithuanian vadůti, ‘to redeem a pledge,’ and perhaps also Greek ἄεθλος (root ϝεθ), ‘prize (of contest),’ which point to an Aryan root wedh.
Wetter, neuter, ‘weather, storm, tempest,’ from the equivalent Middle High German wëter, Old High German wëtar, neuter; corresponding to Old Saxon wëdar, ‘weather, tempest, storm,’ Dutch weder, weêr, Anglo-Saxon wëder, English weather, and the equivalent Old Icelandic veðr (Gothic *widra- is wanting). If Teutonic wedro- is based on pre-Teutonic wedhro-, Old Slovenian vedro, neuter, ‘fair weather’ (vedrŭ, ‘bright, clear’), is related to it. It is possible, though less probable, that wetró- is the Aryan base, with which also Old Slovenian větrŭ, ‘air, wind’ (from the root wê, ‘to blow’), coincides. —
Wetterleuchten, neuter, ‘sheet lighting,’ corrupted from late Middle High German (so even now in Modern High German dialects) wëterleich (compare Norwegian vederleik), ‘lightning’; compare Middle High German leichen, ‘to dance, skip’ (see Leich).
wetzen, verb, ‘to whet, sharpen,’ from Middle High German wętzen, Old High German węzzen (from *hwazzjan), weak verb, ‘to sharpen’; compare Dutch wetten, Anglo-Saxon hwęttan, English to whet, Old Icelandic hvetja, ‘to sharpen.’ A common Teutonic weak verb, properly strong. The Teutonic strong verbal root hwat, from Aryan kwod (by gradation ​kud), seems to be equivalent to the Sanscrit root cud, ‘to whet, sharpen, set on fire, incite’ (compare Anglo-Saxon hwęttan, Old Icelandic hvetja, ‘to excite, incite,’ properly ‘to sharpen’). The older Teutonic periods preserve the adjectives hwassa- (Gothic hwass, Old High German and Middle High German was) and hwato- (Anglo-Saxon hwœt, Old High German waȥ), ‘sharp,’ from the root hwat.
wichsen, verb, ‘to black, polish (boots), wax (thread), from late Middle High German wihsen, Old High German wahsen, giwęhsen, weak verb, ‘to wax’; a derivative of Wachs.
Wicht, masculine, ‘wight, creature, ragamuffin,’ from Middle High German wiht, masculine and neuter, ‘creature, being, thing’ (used especially of hobgoblins, dwarfs, &c.), Old High German wiht, masculine and neuter, ‘thing, being, person’; compare also the meanings of Bösewicht. Corresponding to Old Saxon wiht, ‘thing’ (plural ‘demons’), Dutch wicht, ‘little child, Anglo-Saxon wiht, ‘being, thing, demon,’ English wight. Goth distinguishes between waihts, feminine, ‘thing,’ and ni-waiht, neuter, ‘nothing’ on which German nicht and nichts are based). The meaning ‘personal or living being’ is probably derived from the primary sense ‘thing,’ for the early history of which the cognate languages give no clue except through Old Slovenian veštĭ, ‘thing,’ which, like Teutonic wihti-, is based upon Aryan wekti-. The cognates can scarcely be explained by wiegen and wägen. Middle High German wihtelîn, wihtelmęnnelîn are still used dialectic for ‘hobgoblins, dwarfs.’
wichtig, adjective, ‘weighty, important,’ Modern High German only; a recent variant of gewichtig, literally ‘having weight.’ See Gewicht.
Wicke (1.), feminine, ‘vetch, tare,’ from the equivalent Middle High German wicke, Old High German wiccha, feminine; corresponding to Dutch wikke. Borrowed from Latin vicia, ‘vetch,’ whence the equivalent Italian veccia, French vesce (English vetch). The period at which it was borrowed (contemporaneous with Spelt?) is fixed by the representation of Latin v by w (compare Pfau, Pfühl with Vogt and Veilchen), as well as the retention of the Latin c as k (compare Kreuz).
Wicke (2.), feminine ‘wick,’ see Wieche.
Wickel, masculine and neuter, ‘roll, curl-paper, distaff-ful (of flax),’ from Middle High German wickel, wickelin, Old High German wicchilî, wicchilîn, neuter, ‘roll, a quantity of flax or wool to spin off’; cognate with Wicke, ‘wick.’ Further cognates are wanting to explain the early history of the word. Allied to wickeln, verb ‘to roll, wind, swathe,’ from late Middle High German wickeln, literally ‘to make into the form of a roll’; also Modern High German Wickel, feminine, ‘swaddling clothes.’
Widder, masculine, ‘ram,’ from Middle High German wider, Old High German widar, masculine; corresponding to Gothic wiþrus, masculine (ram? lamb?), Anglo-Saxon wëðer, English wether, Dutch weder, ‘ram, wether.’ Teutonic weþru-, from pre-Teutonic wétru-, is primitively allied to Latin vitulus, ‘calf,’ Sanscrit vatsá, ‘calf, young animal,’ which are derived from Aryan wet-,‘year’; compare Latin vetus, ‘aged,’ Greek ἔτος, Sanscrit vatsara, ‘year.’ Hence Widder means literally ‘young animal, yearling.’
wider, preposition and adverb, ‘against,’ from Middle High German wider, Old High German widar, ‘against, towards, back, once more’; corresponding to Gothic wiþra, preposition, ‘against, before,’ Old Saxon wiðar (and wið), preposition, ‘against,’ Dutch weder, weêr, Anglo-Saxon wiðer (and wið), ‘against’ (hence English with). Teutonic wiþrô, ‘against,’ and the equivalent wiþe are based on the Aryan preposition wi, ‘against,’ which is preserved in Sanscrit vi, ‘asunder, apart’ (to which vitarám, ‘further,’ is allied). Compare hinter. — Allied to widern, anwidern, verb, ‘to loathe, be offensive,’ literally ‘to be opposed,’ from Middle High German widern, ‘to be opposite.’ —
Widerpart, masculine, ‘opponent, opposition,’ from Middle High German widerparte, feminine and masculine, ‘opposing party, enmity, enemy, opponent,’ allied to Middle High German part, ‘part,’ which is based on Latin pars (French part). —
Widersacher, masculine, ‘adversary,’ from Middle High German widersache, Old High German widarsahho, masculine, ‘opponent in a lawsuit, accused, opponent (generally)’; allied to Sache, which originally meant ‘legal dispute.’ —
widerspenstig, adjective, ‘refractory, perverse, obstinate,’ from the equivalent Middle High German (rare) widerspęnstec, usually widerspœne, widerspœnec; allied to Middle High German widerspân, also spân, span (nn), ‘dispute, quarrel.’ —
Widerthon, masculine, ‘spleenwort,’ from the equivalent Middle High German widertân (-tât, -tôt); an obscure word; it has probably been corrupted. —
widerwärtig, adjective, ‘adverse, repugnant, repulsive,’ from Middle High German widerwertic, -wartic (widërwert, -wart), adjective, ‘striving against, refractory, hostile,’ Old High German widarwart, wartic (g), ‘opposed.’ Compare wärts —
widrig, adjective, ‘contrary, adverse, repugnant,’ Modern High German only.
widmen, verb, ‘to dedicate, devote, consecrate,’ from Middle High German widemen, Old High German widimen, ‘to furnish with a dowry, endow’; allied to Old High German widamo, ‘wedding present’ (see Wittum).
wie, adverb, ‘how, in what way,’ from the equivalent Middle High German wie, Old High German wio, which is derived from *hwêu for *hewu, hwaiwô; the last form is indicated only by Gothic ​hwaiwa, ‘how.’ Based on the Teutonic pronominal stem hwa-, Aryan qe, qo. The formation of pre-Teutonic koiwô is identical with that of Sanscrit êvā̆, ‘in this manner,’ from the pronominal stem a, ‘this.’ Another form is preserved in English how, from the equivalent Anglo-Saxon hû (equivalent to Old Saxon and Teutonic hwô).
Wiebel, masculine, ‘beetle,’ from Middle High German wibel, Old High German wibil, masculine; corresponding to Old Saxon wiƀil, Anglo-Saxon wifel, English weevil. The literal meaning of this word as a derivative of weben (see also Wespe) is probably ‘weaver’ (because it surrounds itself with a web on changing into a chrysalis state). Compare Lithuanian vabalas, ‘beetle.’
Wieche, masculine, ‘wick,’ from Middle High German wieche, masculine and feminine, ‘twisted yarn as wick or lint,’ Old High German wiohha (wioh?), ‘wick’; also Middle High German and Modern High German (dialectic) wicke, with the same signification. The latter is connected with Wickel, from which Middle High German wieche was originally at all events quite distinct; compare Dutch wiek, ‘lamp wick,’ Anglo-Saxon weoca (but also wecca, equivalent to English wick). There are apparently no other cognates, unless we include Wocken.
Wiedehopf, masculine, ‘hoopoe’ (bird), from the equivalent Middle High German witehopfe, masculine, Old High German wituhopfo (-hoffo), masculine, literally ‘forest hopper.’ Old High German witu, ‘timber,’ equivalent to Anglo-Saxon wudu, English wood (compare Kramtsvogel), is primitively allied to Old Irish fid, ‘tree’ (or Greek φιτρός, ‘block of wood, log’). Compare hüpfen.
wieder, adverb, identical with wider.
Wiege, feminine, ‘cradle,’ from the equivalent Middle High German wige, wiege, Old High German wiga (*wiega?), and, with a different gradation, waga, feminine; corresponding to Dutch wieg, Old Icelandic vagga, ‘cradle’ (in Anglo-Saxon cradol, English cradle). It is evidently connected with the root weg in bewegen, wackeln; yet some difficulties still remain; the relation of Old High German and Middle High German ie, i, a, is not quite clear (see schief and Stiege).
wiegen, verb, ‘to weigh, rock,’ from the equivalent Middle High German wëgen, Old High German wëgan, strong verb; identical with wegen, verb, which see.
wichern, verb, ‘to neigh, shout noisily,’ an intensive form of the equivalent Middle High German wihen (wihenen, wihelen), Old High German wihôn for *wĭjôn, *hwĭjôn; formed from the same root as Middle High German weijen, Old High German weiôn (hweiôn), ‘to neigh’ (English dialectic to wicker). With the onomatopoetic root hwī̆ are connected, though with a different evolution of meaning, Anglo-Saxon hwînan, English to whine, Old Icelandic hvîna, ‘to rustle, drink (of beasts).’
Wiemen, masculine, ‘pole for hanging meat to be smoked above the hearth,’ Modern High German only, from Low German; compare Dutch wieme, ‘smoking-place.’
Wiese, feminine, ‘meadow, pasture-land,’ from the equivalent Middle High German wise, Old High German wisa, feminine. From the same root are derived with a different gradation Old Icelandic veisa, ‘pool, pond with standing water,’ Anglo-Saxon wâs, ‘moisture,’ English (dialectic) woosy, ‘moist.’ Low German wische, ‘meadow,’ is based on Low German *wîska.
Wiesel, masculine and neuter, ‘weasel,’ from the equivalent Middle High German wisel, wisele, Old High German wisala, feminine; corresponding to Dutch wezel, wezeltje, Anglo-Saxon wësle (weosulœ), English weasel, Danish väsel. It is frequently regarded as a derivative of Wiese, linking it with the place where the animal is usually found; others, on account of the keen scent of the animal, connect its name with Latin virus, ‘poison’ (root wī̆s, see verwesen). Both derivations are very uncertain.
wild, adjective, ‘wild, savage, fierce,’ from the equivalent Middle High German wilde, Old High German wildi, adjective, corresponding to Gothic wilþeis, Anglo-Saxon wilde, English wild, Dutch wild, Old Saxon wildi; the corresponding Old Icelandic villr usually signifies ‘going astray, confused.’ French sauvage (from Latin silvaticus), as a derivative of Latin silva, has led to the assumption that the Teutonic cognates are derived from Wald. This view is not probable, since wild seems to be used only of living beings (literally ‘senseless, irrational’?); compare the Scandinavian signification. Moreover, the substantive Wild, neuter (‘wild animals, game, deer’), which cannot be derived from the adjective, has a more original form; compare Middle High German wilt (d), Old High German and Anglo-Saxon wild, neuter (Anglo-Saxon also wildor, and later wildeór), ‘wild animals,’ from Teutonic wilþiz, neuter (hence pre-Teutonic weltos-, neuter, ‘wild animals,’ but wéltjo-, ‘wild, savage’). Hence the connection with Wald is improbable, though a more certain origin has not yet been found.
Wildbret, neuter, ‘game, venison,’ from Middle High German wiltbrât, -brœte, neuter, ‘roasted (or boiled) game, game for roasting, venison’; see Braten. —
Wildfang, masculine, ‘deer-stalking,’ from Middle High German wiltvanc (g), masculine, ‘game preserving, preserves’; late Middle High German in the sense of ‘strange person’ (one entrapped, as it were, like game).
Wildschur, neuter, ‘wolfskin, fur pelisse,’ Modern High German only, from the equivalent Polish vilczur.
Wille, masculine, ‘will, volition, design, wish,’ from the equivalent Middle High German wille, Old High German willo, masculine; corresponding to Gothic wilja, Old Saxon ​willio, Dutch wil, Anglo-Saxon willa, English will; an abstract from wollen, which see. Allied to willig, adjective, ‘willing, voluntary, ready,’ from Middle High German willec, Old High German willîg. —
willfahren, verb, ‘to accede to, grant, humour,’ from late Middle High German willevarn.
willkommen, adjective, ‘welcome, acceptable’; substantive ‘welcome, reception’; from Middle High German willekumen. Corresponding to Dutch welkom, Anglo-Saxon wilcumen, English welcome, whence Old French wilecome (a form of greeting) was borrowed.
Willkür, feminine, ‘option, discretion, caprice,’ from Middle High German willekür, feminine, ‘free choice, free will’; gee kiesen and Kur-.
wimmeln, verb, ‘to swarm, teem with,’ from late Middle High German (Middle German) wimmen, ‘to be astir, swarm.’ From the same root wem (wam) are derived the equivalent Old High German wimidôn and wimizzen (wamezzen). Old High German wiuman, ‘to swarm with,’ seems to be a reduplicated present of the same root wen (we-wm-).
wimmern, verb, ‘to whimper,’ from Middle High German wimmer, neuter, ‘whining,’ beside which occurs an equivalent Middle High German gewammer, with a different stage of gradation; recent imitative forms.
Wimpel, masculine and feminine, ‘pennon, flag, streamer,’ from Middle High German wimpel, feminine and masculine, ‘banner, flag, naval ensign, kerchief,’ Old High German wimpal, ‘frontlet, veil.’ Allied to French guimpe (Old French guimple), ‘wimple, stomacher,’ Dutch wimpel, Anglo-Saxon winpel, wimpel, English wimple. The exact relation of these apparently compound words to one another is obscure, since the Low German dialects have mp coinciding with High German (we should have expected mf in High German). Since it is not yet known in which group it was borrowed, nothing definite can be said concerning its early history. The evolution in meaning is similar to that of Fahne.
Wimper, feminine, ‘eyelash,’ from the equivalent Middle High German wintbrâ, wintbrâwe, Old High German wintbrâwa, feminine; literally ‘the winding eyebrow.’
Wind, masculine, ‘wind,’ from the equivalent Middle High German wint (d), Old High German wint, masculine; corresponding to Gothic winds, Anglo-Saxon and English wind (to which window from Old Icelandic windauga, literally ‘wind eye,’ is allied), Dutch and Old Saxon wind, ‘wind.’ The common Teutonic windo-, from Aryan wē̆ntó-, is identical in form with the equivalent Latin ventus, and Sanscrit vãta, masculine, ‘wind’ (compare also Greek ἀήτης?); they are derivatives of the present participle wē̆-nt- of the root wê, ‘to blow’ (see wehen); for the form of the word compare Zahn. While this word extends beyond Teutonic the terms for the chief directions of the wind are peculiar to that group (see Nord, Ost, &c.).
Winde, feminine, ‘windlass, winch,’ from the equivalent Middle High German winde, Old High German winta, feminine —
Windel, feminine, ‘swaddling clothes, napkin,’ from the equivalent Middle High German winde, Old High German wintila, feminine; literally ‘means for winding about.’ —
winden, verb, ‘to wind, reel, twine,’ from Middle High German winden, Old High German wintan, strong verb, ‘to wind, turn, wrap’; compare Old Saxon windan, ‘to turn’ (biwindan, ‘to wrap up’), Dutch winden, Anglo-Saxon windan, English to wind, Gothic windan. For the causative of this Teutonic strong verbal root wind, ‘to turn, wrap,’ see wenden; other derivatives are wandern, wandeln. There are no certain cognates in non-Teutonic Italian ghindare, French guinder, ‘to hoist,’ are borrowed from Teutonic.
Windhund, masculine, Windspiel, neuter, ‘greyhound, harrier,’ from the equivalent Middle High German wintbracke, wintspil; these compounds are tautological forms for Middle High German and Old High German wint, ‘greyhound.’ It is probably not connected with Wind, though the two words are instinctively associated. On account of the limited area of its diffusion, the prehistoric form cannot be discovered. Its kinship with Hund (Teutonic hundo-, from hwundo-) is perhaps possible (Wind-, from hwindo-?); in that case the assonance with Wind must have caused the differentiation.
Windsbraut, feminine, ‘hurricane, tornado,’ from the equivalent Middle High German windes brût, Old High German wintes brût, feminine; a remarkable formation, which is usually referred to mythological ideas. Yet Old High German and Middle High German brût in this compound might be cognate with Middle High German brûs, Modern High German Braus, if this were connected with pre-Teutonic bhrût-to-.
Wingert, masculine, ‘vineyard,’ from Middle High German wī̆ngarte, Old High German wîngarto, masculine; compare also English vineyard; literally ‘wine-garden.’ For the shortening of Middle High German and Old High German î, compare Winzer.
Wink, masculine, ‘sign, wink, nod, hint,’ from the equivalent Middle High German winc (k), Old High German winch, masculine; allied to winken, verb, ‘to wink, beckon, nod,’ Middle High German winken, strong verb, Old High German winchan, weak verb, ‘to move sidewards, totter, nod, wink’; corresponding to Anglo-Saxon wincian, English to wink. If ‘to totter along, move with a sideward motion,’ is the primary meaning of the Teutonic root wink, the Aryan root may be the same as that of weichen (wī̆g, wī̆k). Related to the following word.
​ Winkel, masculine, ‘angle, corner, nook,’ from the equivalent Middle High German winkel, Old High German winchil, masculine; corresponding to Dutch winkel, Anglo-Saxon wincel, ‘angle,’ to which Gothic waíhsta, masculine, ‘angle, corner,’ formed from a nasalised root, is allied. The primary meaning of the word is probably ‘bend.’ See Wink.
winken, see Wink.
winseln, verb, ‘to whine, whimper,’ from the equivalent Middle High German winseln, an intensive of Middle High German winsen, Old High German winsôn, winisôn, weak verb, ‘to lament.’ Probably derived, like wimmern (wiehern), from the Teutonic root hwī̆. Its connection with weinen is less probable.
Winter, masculine, ‘winter,’ from the equivalent Middle High German winter, Old High German wintar, masculine; a common Teutonic term, wanting in the other Aryan languages. Compare Gothic wintrus, Anglo-Saxon and English winter, Old Saxon wintar. The allied languages used a stem ghī̆m (ghiem); compare Latin hiems, Greek χειμών, Old Slovenian and Zend zima, Sanscrit hêmanta (also in the Lex Salica ingimus, ‘anniculus’). These Aryan cognates, which may also signify ‘snow’ and ‘storm’ (compare Greek χεῖμα, ‘storm’), cannot, for phonological reasons, be allied to the Teutonic group. They suggest, however, a connection between Winter and Wind; yet the Teutonic bases wintru- and windo- do not agree phonologically. Perhaps those are right who regard Winter as the ‘white period,’ referring it to Old Gallic vindo-, ‘white’ as in Vindo-bona, Vindo-magus, Vindo-nissa); compare Old Irish find, ‘white.’ In the Old Teutonic languages Winter also signifies ‘year,’ which is still retained in the Modern High German dialectic Einwinter, ‘yearling kid, steer’ (Anglo-Saxon œ̂netre, ‘of one year’).
Winzer, masculine, ‘vintager, vine-dresser,’ from the equivalent Middle High German wī̆nzürl, wī̆nzürle, Old High German wînzuril (wînzurnil), masculine. It can hardly have been borrowed from Latin vînitor, which must have produced the Old High German form *wînizâri (Middle High German wī̆nzœre, wī̆nzer). Old High German wînzuril is more probably, however, a compound slightly influenced by the Latin term; its second component is derived from Old High German zëran, ‘to tear or pluck off.’ Compare Wein, and for the accented vowel Wingert.
winzig, adjective, ‘tiny, diminutive, petty,’ from the equivalent late Middle High German winzic (g). A recent diminutive derivative of wenig (compare einzig from einig, ein); yet note Swabian and Alemannian wunzig.
Wipfel, masculine, ‘top (of a tree), summit,’ from Middle High German wipfel (wiffel), Old High German wipfil (wiffil), masculine, ‘top of a tree’; literally perhaps ‘that which rocks, swing,’ for the word is based on the Teutonic root wip, ‘to tremble, move, rock’ (see Wippe).
Wippe, feminine, ‘critical point, see-saw, seat (of a swing), crane,’ Modern High German only, borrowed from Low German; compare Dutch wippen, ‘to let fly, jerk, rock.’ The genuine High German form is Old High German and Middle High German wipf, ‘swing, quick movement’; in Middle High German also wîfen, strong verb, ‘to swing’ (see weifen). The Teutonic root wī̆p, ‘to move with a rocking motion,’ contained in these cognates (and in Wipfel), is based on pre-Teutonic wī̆b, whence also Latin vibrare, ‘to vibrate’; allied to the earlier Aryan variant wī̆p, in Sanscrit vip, ‘to tremble,’ Old High German weibôn, ‘to totter.’
wir, pronoun, ‘we,’ from the equivalent Middle High German and Old High German wir; corresponding to Gothic weis, Old Saxon wî, Dutch wij, Anglo-Saxon wê, English we. The common Teutonic wîz, with a secondary nominative suffix s, is based on Aryan wei, whence Sanscrit vayám, ‘we.’ The declension of wir, which is supplemented by uns, belongs to grammar.
Wirbel, masculine, ‘whirl, vortex, whirlpool, bustle, crown (of the head),’ from Middle High German wirbel, masculine, ‘vortex, crown (of the head), whirl,’ Old High German wirbil, wirfil, masculine, ‘whirlwind’; compare Old Icelandic hvirfell, ‘vortex, English whirl. Derivatives of the Teutonic root hwerb (hwerf), ‘to turn’ (see werben). With regard to Ropfwirbel note the evolution of meaning in Scheitel.
wirken, verb, ‘to work, effect, produce,’ from the equivalent Middle High German wirken (würken), Old High German wirken (wurchen). This verb, properly strong, is common to Teutonic in the forms wirkjan, wurkjan; compare Gothic waúrkjan, Anglo-Saxon wyrčęan, also Old Saxon wirkian, Dutch werken. The Teutonic verbal root werk, work, to which Modern High German Werk belongs, is based on an old Aryan root werg (worg), which occurs in several dialects. With Greek ἔργον, ‘work,’ are connected ῥέζω (for *ϝρεγιω), ‘to do, perform,’ ὄργανον, ‘instrument,’ ὄργιον, ‘sacred rite’; so too the Zend root vṛz, verez, ‘to work, toil.’ The meanings, ‘to prepare by sewing, embroidering, weaving,’ incipient in Middle High German, have been preserved in Modern High German. There is also in German a compound derivative Old High German scuoh-wurhto, Middle High German schuochwürte, ‘shoemaker,’ whence Modern High German proper names such as Schubert, Schuchardt.
wirr, adjective, ‘confused, entangled,’ a Modern High German derivative of wirren, ‘to twist, entangle, confuse’ (mostly now verwirren). ​This properly strong verb (as the old Modern High German participle verworren shows) is based on Middle High German wërren (verwërren), Old High German wërran (firwërran), strong verbs, ‘to entangle, confuse.’ On the corresponding substantive Old High German wërra, ‘confusion, dispute,’ are based Italian guerra, French guerre, ‘war.’ It is uncertain whether Old High German and Old Saxon wërran, strong verb, ‘to bring into confusion,’ is based on an earlier *wersan, and whether Wurst is connected with it. A pre-Teutonic root wers appears in Old Slovenian vrěšti, ‘to thresh,’ and probably also in Latin verro, ‘to sweep.’ English worse (Gothic waírsiza; see the following word) is usually referred to the Teutonic root wers, ‘to confuse.’
wirsch, adjective, ‘cross, angry,’ Modern High German only, an imitation of Middle High German unwirsch (from unwirdesch, unwürdesch). The signification cannot be explained from the Middle High German comparative wirs (equivalent to English worse, Gothic waírsis).
Wirsching, Wirsing, masculine, ‘borecole,’ first recorded in Modern High German; the word seems, however, to have been borrowed at an earlier period from Upper Italy, as is also indicated by the French term, chou de Milan ou de Savoie. It is based on Lombardic versa (compare Italian verzotto), ‘cabbage, borecole,’ which is usually referred to Latin viridia, ‘vegetables.’ Kohl and Kappes were borrowed at a much earlier period.
Wirt, masculine, ‘host, landlord,’ from Middle High German and Old High German wirt, masculine, ‘husband, head of the house, sovereign of a country, host, guest, landlord (of an inn, &c.)’; compare Old Saxon wërd, ‘husband, master of the house,’ Dutch waard, Gothic waírdus, ‘host.’ No connection with Latin vir, ‘man’ (for Teutonic wër, see Werwolf, Welt, and Wergeld), is possible, and it can hardly be related to warten.
Wirtel, masculine, ‘spindle ring,’ from the equivalent Middle High German wirtel, masculine, which is derived from the Aryan root wert, ‘to turn’ (see werden).
Wisch, masculine, ‘rag, clout, wisp,’ from the equivalent Middle High German wisch, Old High German wisc, masculine. to which Middle High German and Modern High German wischen, Old High German wisken, is allied. Compare Old Icelandic visk, ‘bundle,’ and also English wisp with a labial instead of a guttural. The base wisku, wisq, wisp, may e connected with Latin virga (from wízgâ?).
Wispel, masculine, ‘twenty-four bushels,’ Modern High German only, a Low German word. The base wichschepel, recorded in the 12th century, points to a connection with Low German schepel, ‘bushel.’
wispeln, verb, ‘to whisper,’ from the equivalent Middle High German wispeln, Old High German wispalôn, hwispalôn. Also in Modern High German only, wispern (properly perhaps a Low German word), corresponding to Anglo-Saxon hwisprian, English to whisper. These intensive forms seem to be based on an onomatopoetic root hwī̆s (hais), to which also heiser is usually referred.
wissen, verb, ‘to know, beware of,’ from the equivalent Middle High German wiȥȥen, Old High German wiȥȥan; a common Teutonic, and more remotely a primitively Aryan preterite present. Compare Gothic wait, ‘I know,’ Anglo-Saxon wât, English wot, Old Saxon wêt, Old High German and Middle High German weiȥ. Based on pre-Teutonic woid, wid, in Sanscrit vêda, ‘I know,’ Greek οἶδα, Old Slovenian vĕděti, ‘to know.’ This primitively unreduplicated perfect is based on a root wid, which in the Aryan languages means literally ‘to find,’ then ‘to see, recognise’; compare Sanscrit vid, ‘to find,’ Greek ἰδεῖν, Latin videre, ‘to see,’ Gothic witan, ‘to observe.’ In German compare gewiß, verweisen, weissagen, Witz.
wittern, verb, ‘to scent, spy out,’ from Middle High German witeren, ‘to scent something’; compare the equivalent Old Icelandic viðra; connected with Wind. “E. to wind, and French vent, ‘scent,’ show that it was possible for the sportsman's phrase to attain this meaning (which is literally ‘to track by the aid of scent’).”
Wittib (with a normal b), Witwe, feminine, ‘widow,’ from the equivalent Middle High German witewe, witwe, Old High German wituwa (witawa), feminine; common to Teutonic and Aryan. Compare Gothic widuwô, Old Saxon widowa, Dutch weduwe, Anglo-Saxon wuduwe, widewe, English widow. Corresponding to Irish fedb, Latin vidua, San. vidhávâ, Old Slovenian vĭdova. The primitively Aryan form widhéwâ (widhowâ), feminine, ‘widow,’ implied in these words seems to be an old formation from an Aryan root widh, Sanscrit root vidh, ‘to become empty, be faulty’; compare Greek ἠίθεος, ‘single, unmarried.’ The designations for Witwer, ‘widower,’ are recent derivatives of the feminine form (compare Schwieger); compare Old High German wituwo, Middle High German witwœre, from which a new feminine could be ultimately formed (Middle High German witwerinne); compare Modern High German Witmann (hence Witfrau). Modern High German Waise, ‘orphan,’ is perhaps connected with the same Aryan root widh.
Wittum, neuter, ‘widow's jointure,’ the proper term is probably Widetum, neuter. The first component is Middle High German widen, wideme, masculine and feminine, ‘bridal gift, present from the bridegroom to the bride,’ then also ‘endowment of a church,’ Old High German widamo, ‘wedding gift of the bridegroom to the bride.’ The corresponding Anglo-Saxon weotuma, ‘money paid for the bride,’ leads to kinship with Greek ​ξεδνα, ἕδνον, ‘bridal presents made by the bridegroom,’ to which perhaps Old Slovenian vedą (vesti) and the equivalent Old Irish fedaim, ‘to marry,’ are allied. There is, in any case, no connection between Wittum and the preceding word; compare also widmen.
Witwe, see Wittib.
Witz, masculine, ‘wit, sense, understanding, repartee,’ from Middle High German witze, Old High German wizzî, feminine, ‘knowing, understanding, prudence, wisdom’; an abstract of wissen (corresponding to Anglo-Saxon and English wit). Allied to witzig, adjective, ‘witty, clever, brilliant,’ from Middle High German witzec (g), Old High German wizzîg, ‘intelligent, prudent.’
wo, adverb, ‘where,’ from Middle High German and Old High German wâ for older wâr, ‘where’; compare Old Saxon hwâr, Dutch waar, Anglo-Saxon hwœ̂r, English where, and the equivalent Gothic hwar. A local adverb from the old interrogative pronoun hwa-, from Aryan ko-; compare Sanscrit kárki, ‘when.’ See wer and warum.
Woche, feminine, ‘week,’ from the equivalent Middle High German woche, Old High German wohha, usually with an earlier vowel wëhha, feminine, a common Teutonic term based on a primary form, wikôn-. Compare Gothic wikô, Old Saxon wika, Dutch week, Anglo-Saxon wucu, wicu, English week, and the equivalent Old Icelandic vika, feminine. The assumption that Latin vices, ‘change,’ was adopted by the Teutons in the sense of ‘week’ is untenable, for were the notion ‘week’ borrowed from the Romans, it would have assumed a form corresponding to Italian settimana, French semaine (Old Irish sechtman), ‘week.’ The Teutonic origin of the word is supported by the fact that it is borrowed by Finnish (as wiika), as well as by wîce, singular, ‘alternate service,’ the Anglo-Saxon variant of wĭcu, which makes it probable that Woche meant ‘change’ (compare Wechsel). The assumption of a loan-word is, however, most strongly opposed by the genuine Teutonic names of the days of the week, which prove the existence of a developed chronology in the pre-historic period.
Wocken, masculine, ‘distaff,’ Modern High German only, from Low German; probably cognate with Wieche.
Woge, feminine (with Middle German ô for â, as in Odem, Schlot, Rot, &c.), ‘wave, billow,’ from Middle High German wâc (g), Old High German wâg, neuter, ‘water in commotion, flood, billow, stream, river, sea’; compare Old Saxon wâg, Anglo-Saxon wœ̂g, Gothic wégs, ‘billow, flood.’ From Old High German is derived French vague. Teutonic wêgo-, wêgi-, from pre-Teutonic wêgho-, wêghi-, is connected with the Aryan root wē̆gh, ‘to move’; hence Woge, literally ‘motion, that which is moved.’
wohl, adverb, ‘well, probably,’ from the equivalent Middle High German wol, Old High German wola (earlier wëla), adverb from gut; corresponding to Old Saxon wē̆l, Dutch wel, Anglo-Saxon wē̆l, English well, Gothic waila. The primary meaning of this common Teutonic adverb is ‘as one could wish,’ because it is derived from the root of wollen. Aryan welo-, ‘wish, desire,’ is also indicated by Sanscrit vára, masculine and neuter, ‘wish, desire,’ to which váram ã (or práti váram), ‘as one could wish, as one likes,’ is allied.
wohlfeil, adjective, ‘cheap,’ from Middle High German wol veile, wolveil, ‘easily purchasable’; compare feil. —
wohlgeboren, adjective, ‘Mr.,’ from Middle High German wolgeborn (also hôchgeborn), ‘distinguished.’ —
Wohlthat, feminine, ‘benefit, kindness, good deed,’ from the equivalent Middle High German woltât, Old High German wolatât.
wohnen, verb, ‘to dwell,’ from the equivalent Middle High German wonen, Old High German wonên, weak verb; corresponding to Old Saxon wunôn, Dutch wonen, Anglo-Saxon wunian, ‘to dwell, be, remain.’ Beside these West Teutonic cognates there are those of gewohnt; the Aryan root wen, on which they are based, probably meant ‘to please,’ which is suggested by Gothic wunan, Old Icelandic una, ‘to rejoice’; the ‘wonted thing’ is ‘that with which one is pleased’; wohnen, literally ‘to find pleasure anywhere.’ From the same Aryan root wen are derived Old Saxon and Old High German wini (Middle High German wine), ‘friend,’ Latin Venus, ‘goddess of love,’ the Sanscrit root van, ‘to be fond of, love,’ Sanscrit vánas, ‘delight.’ Compare also Wonne and Wunsch.
wölben, verb, ‘to vault, arch,’ from Middle High German and Old High German węlben (from *walbian, hwalbjan), weak verb, ‘to assume a curved shape, vault.’ Compare Old Saxon bihwęlbian, ‘to arch over, cover,’ Dutch welven, Old Icelandic hvelfa, ‘to arch’; allied to Anglo-Saxon hwealf, ‘arched,’ and Gothic hwilftri, ‘coffin’ (literally ‘arch’). The Teutonic verbal root hwelb, hwelf, from Aryan qelp (qelq?) is related to Greek κόλπος, ‘bosom’ (literally ‘arch’); so too Sanscrit kûrcá, Latin culcita, ‘pillow’?.
Wolf, masculine, ‘wolf,’ from the equivalent Middle High German and Old High German wolf, masculine; common to Teutonic and also to Aryan; compare Gothic wulfs, Old Saxon wulf, Dutch wolf, Anglo-Saxon wulf, English wolf. Teutonic wulfo-, from wulpo-, is based on Aryan wlqo-, wlko-; compare Sanscrit vṛ́ka, Old Slovenian vlûkŭ. Lithuanian vilkas, Greek λύκος, Latin lupus, ‘wolf.’ On account of this apparent similarity between Wolf and the equivalent words of the other Aryan languages, Latin vulpes, ‘fox,’ cannot be allied. The Aryan term wlko- ​has been rightly compared with the Aryan root welk, ‘to march,’ preserved in Greek ἕλκω, Old Slovenian vlęką, so that Wolf meant perhaps ‘robber.’ The word was often used in Teutonic to form names of persons; compare Wolfram, under Rabe; Rudolf, from Ruodolf (literally ‘famous wolf,’ see Ruhm), Adolf, from Adalolf (literally ‘noble wolf, see Adel).
Wolke, feminine, ‘cloud,’ from the equivalent Middle High German wolken, Old High German wolchan, masculine; also in Middle High German (Alemannian, Middle German) wolke, Old High German wolcha, feminine, ‘cloud.’ Corresponding to Old Saxon wolcan, neuter, Dutch wolk, Anglo-Saxon wolcen, ‘cloud’ (to which English welkin is allied). Under welk a pre-Teutonic root welg, ‘moist,’ is assumed, with which the term wolkôn (wolken-), neuter, ‘cloud’ (literally ‘the moist thing’), peculiar to West Teutonic, is connected.
Wolle, feminine, ‘wool, down,’ from the equivalent Middle High German wolle, Old High German wolla, feminine; corresponding to Gothic wulla, Anglo-Saxon wull, English wool, Dutch wol. Teutonic wullô-, from pre-Teutonic wlná (for ll from ln see Welle and voll), corresponding the Aryan languages to Sanscrit ûrṇâ, Old Slovenian vlŭna, Lithuanian vílna, ‘wool’; in Latin villus, vellus. Sanscrit ũrṇâ is connected with a root vṛ, ‘to cover, wrap’ (present ûrṇõmi); hence Welle (Aryan wlnâ) meant literally ‘that which covers.’ Greek εἰρος, ἔριον, ‘wool,’ cannot be related to the common Aryan cognates (root wel).
wollen, verb, ‘to wish, be willing, have a mind to, intend,’ from the equivalent Middle High German wollen (węllen), Old High German wellan (węllan); an anomalous verb; the further details belong to grammar. Compare Old Saxon węllian, willian, Dutch willen, Anglo-Saxon willan, English to will, Gothic wiljan. The connection between the Teutonic root wel, ‘to wish,’ with which Wahl and wohl are also connected, and the equivalent Latin velle is apparent; compare also Sanscrit vṛ (var), ‘to choose, prefer,’ Old Slovenian voliti, ‘to be willing.’ Greek βούλομαι ‘to be willing,’ is, on the other hand, not allied; it is more probably related to Greek ἐθέλω, θέλω, ‘to wish,’ which, like Sanscrit hary, ‘to desire,’ points to an Aryan ghel (ghwel), which would produce in Teutonic likewise a root wël, ‘to be willing.’
Wollust, feminine, ‘delight, voluptuousness,’ from Middle High German wol-lust, masculine and feminine, ‘gratification, joy, pleasure, enjoyment, merry life, voluptuousness.’
Wonne, feminine, ‘rapture, ecstasy, bliss,’ from Middle High German wunne (wünne), Old High German wunna (wunni), feminine, ‘joy, pleasure, the most beautiful and best’; corresponding to Old Saxon wunnia, ‘joy,’ Anglo-Saxon wynn. Gothic *wunni (genitive *wunnjôs) was probably a verbal abstract of Gothic wunan, ‘to rejoice,’ the root of which (Aryan wen, ‘to be pleased’) appears in wohnen. Old High German wunnea (Middle High German wünne), ‘pasture-land,’ has been considered as identical with Wonne; yet that word, like Gothic winja, ‘pasture, fodder,’ has its own early history. It has been preserved in Wonnemonat, ‘month of May,’ Middle High German wunnemânôt (winnemânôt), on. wunni-, winni-, mânôd, literally ‘pasture month.’
worfeln, verb, ‘to fan, winnow,’ Modern High German only; intensive of werfen.
worgen, see würgen.
Wort, neuter, ‘word, term, expression,’ from the equivalent Middle High German and Old High German wort, masculine; corresponding to Gothic waúrd, Old Saxon, Anglo-Saxon, and English word, Dutch woord. The common Teutonic wordo, ‘word,’ based on Aryan wṛdho-, is equivalent to Latin verbum (Latin b for Aryan dh, as in Bart, rot), Prussian wirds, ‘word,’ and Lithuanian vardas, ‘name.’ Wort has with lees reason been regarded as an old participle wr-tó- (for the suffix compare satt and traut), and derived from the root wer (wrê), appearing in Greek ῥήτωρ, ‘orator,’ ῥήτρα, ‘saying,’ ἐρέω, ‘to ask,’ and with which Old Irish breth, ‘sentence,’ based on Aryan wṛto-, is connected.
Wrack, neuter, ‘wreck, refuse,’ Modern High German only, from Low German; compare Dutch wrak, English wreck. Based on Dutch wrak, ‘useless, damaged,’ and wraken, ‘to cast out.’
Wucher, masculine, ‘usury, interest,’ from Middle High German wuocher, Old High German wuohhar, masculine and neuter, ‘produce, fruit, gain, profit’; corresponding to Gothic wôkrs, ‘usury.’ The Old High German and Middle High German sense ‘descendants’ points to a Teutonic root wak, ‘to arise, bear,’ which is identical with the Aryan root wō̆g, ‘to be astir, successful, energetic’ (see wecken); compare Sanscrit vãja, masculine, ‘power, strength, nourishment, prosperity,’ and Anglo-Saxon onwœcnan, ‘to be born.’ In meaning the Aryan root aug, ‘to increase,’ cognate with Aryan wog, is more closely connected; compare Latin augere, Gothic aukan (Lithuanian augti, ‘to grow’).
Wuchs, masculine, ‘growth, development’; Modern High German only, a graded form, from wachsen.
Wucht, feminine, ‘weight, burden,’ Modern High German only, from Low German wucht, a variant of Gewicht.
wühlen, verb, ‘to root, grub up, burrow, rummage, stir up,’ from the equivalent Middle High German wüelen, Old High German wuolen (from *wôljan); ​corresponding to Dutch woelen. With this weak verbal root wôl is connected the Teutonic cognate walo- (see Wahlstatt), to which Old High German and Middle High German wuol and Anglo-Saxon wôl, ‘defeat, ruin,’ are allied.
Wulst, feminine, ‘swelling, roll, pad,’ from the equivalent Middle High German (very rare) wulst, Old High German (rare) wulsta, feminine (also signifying the ‘turned up lip’). A derivative of Old High German wëllan, Middle High German wëllen, strong verb, ‘to make round, roll,’ to which Welle is allied.
wund, adjective, ‘galled, chased, wounded,’ from the equivalent Middle High German wunt (d), Old High German wunt; corresponding to Old Saxon and Anglo-Saxon wund, Dutch gewond, and Gothic wunds; properly an old participle with the Aryan suffix to-. There is also an old abstract of the same root with the Aryan suffix -tâ (see Schande?), Modern High German Wunde, ‘wound,’ from Middle High German wunde, Old High German wunta, feminine, to which Old Saxon wunda, Dutch wunde, Anglo-Saxon wund, English wound, correspond. The root on which the word is based would assume the form wen in Teutonic; compare Gothic win-nan, ‘to suffer, feel pain,’ to which Greek ὠτειλή (from *ό-ϝατειλη), ‘wound,’ is usually referred.
Wunder, neuter, ‘wonder, marvel, miracle,’ from Middle High German wunter, Old High German wuntar, neuter, ‘astonishment, object of astonishment, wonder, marvel’ (the signification ‘astonishment’ is preserved in the expression Wunder nehmen, ‘to be surprised,’ which existed in Middle High German). Compare Old Saxon wundar, English and Dutch wonder. Teutonic wundro- seems, like Greek ἀθρέω (for *ϝαθρέω?), ‘to gaze at, observe, consider,’ to point to an Aryan root wendh, ‘to gaze at, stare at.’
Wunsch, masculine, ‘wish, desire,’ from Middle High German wunsch, Old High German wunsc, masculine, ‘wish, desire’ (Middle High German also ‘capacity for doing something extraordinary’); compare Dutch wensch, Old Icelandic ósk (for Gothic *wunska), ‘wish.’ Hence the derivative wünschen, ‘to wish, desire, long for,’ Middle High German wünschen, Old High German wunsken, ‘to wish’; compare Dutch wenschen, Anglo-Saxon wŷsčęan, English to wish. Sanscrit vâñchâ (for *vânskâ), ‘wish’ (with the root vâñch, ‘to wish’), is regarded as equivalent to Teutonic wunskó, ‘wish.’ The skâ derivative is based on the root wen, ‘to be pleased,’ which appears in wohnen.
Würde, feminine, ‘dignity,’ from Middle High German wirde, feminine, ‘dignity, honour, respect,’ Old High German wirdi, feminine; an abstract from Wert. —
würdig, adjective, ‘worthy, estimable,’ from the equivalent Middle High German wirdec, Old High German wirdîg.
Wurf, masculine, ‘throw, cast, projection,’ from the equivalent Middle High German and Old High German wurf; allied to werfen. — With this Würfel, masculine, ‘die, cube,’ from Middle High German würfel, Old High German wurfil, masculine, is connected; compare the equivalent Old Icelandic verpell.
würgen, verb, ‘to choke, strangle, throttle,’ from the equivalent Middle High German würgen (Middle German worgen), weak verb, Old High German wurgen (from *wurgjan). Beside this weak verb there existed a strong verbal root, Teutonic werg (deduced from the equivalent Middle High German erwërgen), from Aryan wergh, from which Lithuanian verszti (verżu), ‘to lace together, press firmly,’ and Old Slovenian vrŭzą, ‘to chain, bind,’ are derived. The word has also been compared with the Aryan root wrengh (see ringen).
Wurm, masculine, ‘worm, grub,’ from Middle High German and Old High German wurm, ‘worm, insect, serpent, dragon’; compare Gothic waûrms, ‘serpent,’ Old Saxon wurm, ‘serpent,’ Dutch and English worm. The meaning of the common Teutonic word varies between ‘worm’ and ‘serpent’ (compare Lindwurm). The former occurs in the primitively allied Latin vermis, ‘worm,’ with which Greek ῥόμος (ῥόμοξ for ϝρομο-), ‘wood-worm,’ is related by gradation. Sanscrit kṛmi, ‘worm,’ Lithuanian kirmėlě and Old Irish cruim (OSlov črŭvĭ), ‘worm,’ are not connected with this word; nor is Greek ἕλμις, ‘maw-worm,’ related to it. —
wurmen, verb, ‘to become worm-eaten, pry, poke into,’ Modern High German only; compare Dutch wurmen, ‘to torment oneself, languish, work hard’; probably allied to Wurm.
Wurst, feminine, ‘sausage, pudding, roll, pad,’ from the equivalent Middle High German and Old High German wurst (Middle German and Dutch worst), feminine. This specifically German word is rightly regarded as a derivative of the Aryan root wert, ‘to turn, wind’ (see werden and Wirtel); hence Wurst (base wrtti, wrtsti), literally ‘turning.’
Wurz, feminine, ‘root, herb,’ from Middle High German and Old High German wurz, feminine, ‘herb, plant’ (Middle High German also ‘root’); compare Old Saxon wurt, ‘herb, flower,’ Anglo-Saxon wyrt, English wort, Gothic waúrts, ‘root.’ An Aryan root wṛd, wrā̆d, is indicated by Greek ῥάδαμνος, ‘tendril, shoot’ (Greek ῥίζα from ϝριδjα), and Latin râdix (Greek ῥάδιξ), with which again Old Icelandic rôt (whence the equivalent English root) for *wrôt- is closely connected; compare also Nüssel. An allied Teutonic root urt (from Aryan wrd) appears in Gothic *aurti-, ‘herb,’ and Old High German orzôn, ‘to plant.’ — To this is allied Würze, feminine, ‘spice, seasoning, wort (brewing),’ from Middle High German würze, feminine, ‘spice plant’; corresponding to English wort and Old Saxon wurtia, ‘spice.’ —
​ Wurzel, feminine, ‘root,’ from the equivalent Middle High German wurzel, Old High German wurzala, feminine; corresponding to Dutch wortel. The final l is not, as in Eichel, a diminutive suffix; Old High German wurzala is rather, according to the evidence of the equivalent Anglo-Saxon wyrtwalu, a compound, properly wurz-walu. In Old High German the medial w was lost, as in Bürger (Old High German burgârâ), equivalent to Anglo-Saxon burgware (compare further Old High German eihhorn with âcweorn). Thus too Morchel, Old High German morhala, represents *morh-walu, Modern High German Geisel, Old High German geisala, represents *geis-walu. The second component is Gothic walus, ‘staff,’ Anglo-Saxon walu, ‘weal, knot’; hence Anglo-Saxon wyrtwalu and Old High German wurzala meant literally ‘herb stick’ (from Wurz).
Wust, masculine, ‘chaos, trash, filth,’ from Middle High German (rare) wuost, masculine, ‘devastation, chaos, refuse.’ —
wüst, adjective, ‘desert, waste, confused, disorderly,’ from Middle High German wüeste, Old High German wuosti, ‘desolate, uncultivated, empty’; corresponding to Old Saxon wôsti, Dutch woest, Anglo-Saxon wêste, ‘waste.’ —
Wüste, feminine, ‘desert, wilderness,’ from the equivalent Middle High German wüeste, Old High German wuostî (wuostinna), feminine; compare Old Saxon wôstinnia, Anglo-Saxon wêsten, ‘wilderness.’ To these West Teutonic cognates, which point to a pre-Teutonic adjective wâstu, Old Irish fás, and Latin vâstus, ‘waste,’ are primitively allied. The West Teutonic adjective cannot be borrowed from Latin (only Middle High German waste, ‘desert,’ is probably thus obtained).
Wut, feminine, ‘rage, fury, madness,’ from the equivalent Middle High German and Old High German wuot, feminine; in Old High German also wuot, Anglo-Saxon wôd, English wood, adjective, ‘furious, mad,’ Gothic wôds, ‘possessed, lunatic.’ There exist, besides these cognates, Anglo-Saxon wôð, ‘voice, song,’ Old Icelandic óðr, ‘poetry, song.’ The connection between the meanings is found in the primitively allied Latin vátes, ‘inspired singer’ (Old Irish fáith, ‘poet’); compare the Sanscrit root vat, ‘to animate spiritually.’ From the same is probably derived the name of the Old Teutonic god Wôdan (Anglo-Saxon Wôden, *Wêden, Old Saxon Wôdan, Old Icelandic Oðenn, Old High German Wuotan), whose name is preserved in Dutch Woensdag, English Wednesday. The originally mythological idea of das wütende Heer, ‘the spectral host,’ is based on Middle High German (and Old High German) Wuotanes her, ‘Odin’s host.’