Etymograph

English

wedge

Wedge comes from Proto-Indo-European *weǵʰ- ‘to move’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*weǵʰ-‘to move’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*wagjazreconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*wagireconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150weċġ
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500wegge
  6. Englishearliest quotation c. 1587–1588wedge

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*weǵʰ-‘to move’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*wagjazreconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*wagireconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150weċġ
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500wegge
  6. Englishearliest quotation c. 1587–1588wedge

Earliest quotation: c. 1587–1588, Christopher Marlowe, Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […]: “Open the Males, yet guard the treaſure ſure. Lay…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *weǵʰ- ‘to move’

way, always, via, vehicle, wave, reveal, halfway, vector, wagon, vein, vogue, weigh, veil, wee, headway, wag, venous, vex, wonky, eunuch, vena, invective, waw, wain, velar, wey, 40 more

Today it means

noun One of the simple machines; a piece of material, such as metal or wood, thick at one edge and tapered to a thin edge at the other for insertion in a narrow crevice, used for splitting, tightening, securing, or levering.

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

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *weǵʰ- / wedge

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