English
beware
Beware comes from Middle English ben ware ‘to be on one's guard, be vigilant’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *wer- ‘to burn’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wer-‘to burn’root as named · steps between not traced
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500ben ware‘to be on one's guard, be vigilant’literally ‘be ware’
- Middle English, derivedc. 1150–1500bewarforms of ben ware
- Englishearliest quotation 1599beware
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wer-‘to burn’root as named · steps between not traced
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500ben ware‘to be on one's guard, be vigilant’literally ‘be ware’
- Middle English, derivedc. 1150–1500bewarforms of ben ware
- Englishearliest quotation 1599beware
Earliest quotation: 1599, The Tragedie of Iulius Cæsar: “Beware the Ides of March.”
The story
From Middle English bewar, be war, be ware, forms of Middle English ben ware (“to be on one's guard, be vigilant”, literally “be ware”), equivalent to be + ware or be + aware.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *wer- ‘to burn’
wear, guard, con, garage, regard, ward, worm, verge, optic, weir, garrison, warn, panorama, reverence, vermin, wry, malware, revere, vermilion, firmware, prosaic, diorama, guaranty, milliner, vermicelli, vermeil, vermiculite, varmint, freeware, shareware, 65 more
Today it means
verb To use caution, pay attention to (used both with and without of).
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *wer- / beware