English
citywear
Citywear comes from Middle English weren ‘to wear particular clothing or jewelry’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *wes-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wes-‘to dress, clothe’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*woséyeti‘to clothe, to put clothes onto’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*wazjaną‘to clothe, dress’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*waʀjan‘to clothe’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150werian‘to use, put on, wear’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500weren‘to wear particular clothing or jewelry’
- Englishearliest quotation 1987citywear
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wes-‘to dress, clothe’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*woséyeti‘to clothe, to put clothes onto’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*wazjaną‘to clothe, dress’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*waʀjan‘to clothe’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150werian‘to use, put on, wear’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500weren‘to wear particular clothing or jewelry’
- Englishearliest quotation 1987citywear
Earliest quotation: 1987, Peter Dragadze, Of Passion and Profit: “Once at home (and out of her favored citywear,…”
A compound of city + -wear
Proto-Indo-European *ḱey- ‘to settle, be lying down’
…
Latin cīvis ‘citizen’
Latin cīvitās ‘citizenship; the state, citizens’
Old French citet ‘city’
Middle English cite ‘a city’
English city
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *wes- ‘to dress, clothe’
invest, vest, bison, venal, basmati, vend, 25 more
through Old English werian ‘to use, put on, wear’
through Middle English weren ‘to wear particular clothing or jewelry’
Today it means
noun Clothing to be worn in the city.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *wes- / citywear