English
wagon
Wagon comes from Middle Dutch wagen ‘a wagon, cart’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *weǵʰ- ‘to transport’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*weǵʰ-‘to transport’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*wagnazreconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*wagn‘cart, wagon’reconstructed
- Old Dutchc. 500–1150*waganreconstructed
- Middle Dutchc. 1150–1500wagen‘a wagon, cart’
- Englishearliest quotation 1781–1782wagon
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*weǵʰ-‘to transport’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*wagnazreconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*wagn‘cart, wagon’reconstructed
- Old Dutchc. 500–1150*waganreconstructed
- Middle Dutchc. 1150–1500wagen‘a wagon, cart’
- Englishearliest quotation 1781–1782wagon
Earliest quotation: 1781–1782, Thomas Jefferson, Plants: “The ore is firſt waggoned to the river, a…”
The story
Generally displaced native cognate wain, from Old English wæġn, of which it is a doublet. Related also to way, weigh. Sense 8 (‘woman of loose morals; obnoxious woman’) is probably a derogatory and jocular reference to a woman being “ridden”, that is, mounted for the purpose of sexual intercourse.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *weǵʰ- ‘to transport’
way, always, via, vehicle, reveal, wave, vector, weigh, wee, halfway, vein, vogue, veil, wedge, venous, vex, eunuch, headway, wonky, vena, wey, invective, velar, wag, waw, 40 more
through Proto-West Germanic *wagn ‘cart, wagon’
Today it means
noun A heavier four-wheeled (normally horse-drawn) vehicle designed to carry goods (or sometimes people).
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *weǵʰ- / wagon