Etymograph

English

begware

Begware comes from Proto-Germanic *warō ‘a good, merchandise, ware’.

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*warō‘a good, merchandise, ware’reconstructed
  2. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*warureconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150waru
  4. English1500–presentsoftware
  5. Englishearliest quotation 2009begware

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Earlier history uncertain.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*warō‘a good, merchandise, ware’reconstructed
  2. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*warureconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150waru
  4. English1500–presentsoftware
  5. Englishearliest quotation 2009begware

Earliest quotation: 2009, PC Mag: “Big-name system vendors typically install software on their consumer…”

A compound of beg + -ware

Middle English beggen ‘to beg’

English beg

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *wer- ‘to heed, watch, guard, protect’

wear, guard, con, garage, ward, worm, regard, verge, optic, weir, warn, garrison, panorama, reverence, vermin, wry, revere, beware, vermilion, prosaic, diorama, guaranty, milliner, vermicelli, vermeil, vermiculite, varmint, 64 more

through English software

malware, firmware, freeware, shareware, 20 more

Today it means

noun nagware

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

Etymograph / Proto-Germanic *warō / begware

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