Etymograph

English

warn

Warn comes from Old English warnian ‘to take heed’, from Proto-Germanic *warnōną ‘to warn’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *wer- ‘to be aware’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wer-‘to be aware’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*warnōną‘to warn’reconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150warnian‘to take heed’
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500warnen
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1526warn

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wer-‘to be aware’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*warnōną‘to warn’reconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150warnian‘to take heed’
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500warnen
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1526warn

Earliest quotation: 1526, [William Tyndale, The Newe Testamẽt […] (Tyndale Bible): “then Iames Cephas and Iohn [...] agreed with vs…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *wer- ‘to be aware’

wear, guard, con, regard, garage, worm, reward, verge, optic, ward, weir, garrison, panorama, reverence, beware, revere, vermin, malware, wry, firmware, vermilion, ware, prosaic, diorama, milliner, guaranty, vermicelli, vermeil, vermiculite, varmint, 65 more

Today it means

verb To make (someone) aware of (something impending); especially: To make (someone) aware of impending danger, evil, etc.

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

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *wer- / warn

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