English
Wayne
Wayne comes from Old English wæġn ‘wagon’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *weǵʰ- ‘to transport’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*weǵʰ-‘to transport’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*wóǵʰnosreconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*wagnaz‘cart, wagon’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150wæġnas wægen‘wagon’
- Englishearliest quotation 1988Wayne
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*weǵʰ-‘to transport’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*wóǵʰnosreconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*wagnaz‘cart, wagon’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150wæġnas wægen‘wagon’
- Englishearliest quotation 1988Wayne
Earliest quotation: 1988, Elmore Leonard, Killshot: “My Dad wanted to name me Mats." "But your…”
The story
Cf. wain.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *weǵʰ- ‘to transport’
always, way, via, vehicle, reveal, wave, vector, weigh, wee, vein, vogue, veil, wedge, halfway, venous, vex, wonky, eunuch, wag, headway, vena, wey, invective, velar, waw, 40 more
through Proto-Germanic *wagnaz ‘cart, wagon’
Today it means
name A surname originating as an occupation.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *weǵʰ- / Wayne