Etymograph

English

Wagner

Wagner comes from German Wagner ‘cartwright, wainwright, wheelwright’, and goes back to Old High German waganāri.

  1. Old High Germanc. 750–1050waganāri
  2. Middle High Germanc. 1050–1350wagener
  3. Germanc. 1650–presentWagner‘cartwright, wainwright, wheelwright’literally ‘wainwright’
  4. Englishtodaysame form

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Old High Germanc. 750–1050waganāri
  2. Middle High Germanc. 1050–1350wagener
  3. Germanc. 1650–presentWagner‘cartwright, wainwright, wheelwright’literally ‘wainwright’
  4. Englishtodaysame form

The story

Borrowed from German Wagner (literally “wainwright”), later conflated with wheelwright. As the name of a private military company, borrowed from Russian Ва́гнер (Vágner). Reportedly the call sign of Russian GRU officer and company founder Dmitry Utkin, which was ultimately named after German composer Richard Wagner.

Every English word from Old High German waganāri

Today it means

name A surname from German.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Old High German waganāri / Wagner

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