English
verse
Verse comes from Middle English vers ‘a line in a poem’, from Latin versus ‘a line in writing’, from vertō ‘to turn around’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *wert- ‘to turn’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wert-‘to turn’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*wertō‘to turn’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvertō‘to turn around’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEversus‘a line in writing’
- Old Englishc. 450–1150fers‘verse’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500vers‘a line in a poem’
- Englishearliest quotation a. 1587verse
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wert-‘to turn’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*wertō‘to turn’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvertō‘to turn around’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEversus‘a line in writing’
- Old Englishc. 450–1150fers‘verse’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500vers‘a line in a poem’
- Englishearliest quotation a. 1587verse
Earliest quotation: a. 1587, Phillip Sidney [i.e., Philip Sidney]: “It is not rhyming and versing that maketh a…”
Linked words
pairs
- verse and weird both from Proto-Indo-European *wert- ‘to turn’
through Proto-Indo-European *wert- ‘to turn, to rotate, spin’
word, worth, ridiculous, ridicule, derision, invert, deride, derisive, wurst, extraversion, 62 more
through Proto-Italic *wertō ‘to turn’
diversion, inversion, aversion, perversion, reversion, evert, vertiginous, 44 more
through Latin vertō ‘to turn around’
divorce, version, conversation, diversity, vertical, vortex, advertisement, convertible, versatile, advert, divert, diversification, revert, pervert, adversity, vertigo, vertex, vertebrate, avert, introvert, subvert, vertebra, vert, perversity, 50 more
through Latin versus ‘a line in writing, and in poetry a verse’
Today it means
noun A poetic form with regular meter and a fixed rhyme scheme.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *wert- / verse