English
avenge
Avenge comes from Old French avengier ‘to avenge’, from Latin vindex ‘protector, defender, maintainer’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *weyh₁- ‘to pursue’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*weyh₁-‘to pursue’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*wéyHs‘force, strength’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*wīs‘strength, force, power’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvim
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEdīcere
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEvindex‘protector, defender, maintainer’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEvindicāre
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400vengier‘to avenge, to take revenge (upon)’
- Old French, derivedc. 842–1400avengier‘to avenge’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500avengen
- Englishearliest quotation 1609avenge
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*weyh₁-‘to pursue’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*wéyHs‘force, strength’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*wīs‘strength, force, power’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvim
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEdīcere
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEvindex‘protector, defender, maintainer’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEvindicāre
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400vengier‘to avenge, to take revenge (upon)’
- Old French, derivedc. 842–1400avengier‘to avenge’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500avengen
- Englishearliest quotation 1609avenge
Earliest quotation: 1609, Bishop Hall: “thy judgment in avenging thine enemies”.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *weyh₁- ‘to pursue’
previous, obvious, virtual, inevitable, virtue, trivial, voyage, convey, trivia, deviation, virtuous, envoy, deviant, virtuoso, wer, viaduct, ochre, virile, venison, virility, virago, trivium, obviate, 54 more
through Proto-Italic *wīs ‘strength, force, power’
violent, violation, violate, vis, violator, inviolable, 9 more
through Latin vim
through Latin vindex ‘protector, defender, maintainer’
vindication, vindicate, 8 more
through Old French vengier ‘to avenge, to take revenge (upon)’
Today it means
verb To take vengeance (for); to exact satisfaction for by punishing the injuring party; to vindicate by inflicting pain or evil on a wrongdoer.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *weyh₁- / avenge