Etymograph

English

pirateware

Pirateware 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 1992pirateware

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 1992pirateware

Earliest quotation: 1992, Peter Norton, Judi N. Fernandez: “Viruses may creep into your system if you download…”

A compound of pirate + -ware

Proto-Indo-European *per-

…

Ancient Greek πειρᾱτής ‘brigand, robber’

Latin pīrāta

Old French pirate

Middle English pirate

English pirate

Linked words

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

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

through English software

malware, firmware, freeware, shareware, 20 more

Today it means

noun Pirated software.

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

Etymograph / Proto-Germanic *warō / pirateware

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