English
welcome
Welcome comes from Old English wilcuma ‘welcome guest’, from Proto-Germanic *wiljakwemô ‘a wished-for arrival’ (*wiljaną ‘to wish’ + *kwemaną ‘to come’).
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*wiljakwemô‘a wished-for guest or arrival’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150wilcuma‘welcome guest’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500welcome
- Englishearliest quotation 1692–1717same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*wiljakwemô‘a wished-for guest or arrival’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150wilcuma‘welcome guest’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500welcome
- Englishearliest quotation 1692–1717same form
Earliest quotation: 1692–1717, Robert South, Twelve Sermons Preached upon Several Occasions: “Truth finds an entrance and a welcome too.”
A compound of *wiljaną ‘to want’ + *kwemaną ‘to come’
Proto-Indo-European *welh₁- ‘to choose’
Proto-Germanic *wiljaną ‘to want’
Proto-Indo-European *gʷem- ‘to come, to step’
Proto-Indo-European *gʷémt ‘to step, to take a step’
Proto-Germanic *kwemaną ‘to come’
The story
From Middle English welcome, wolcume, wulcume, wilcume, from Old English wilcuma (“a wished-for guest”; compare also wilcume (“welcome!”, interjection)), from Proto-West Germanic *willjakwemō, from Proto-Germanic *wiljakwemô (‘a wished-for arrival or guest’), possibly from *wiljakwemaną (‘to be welcome’), equivalent to will (‘desire’) + come (‘comer, arrival’). The component wil- was replaced by wel- when the sense “guest” of the second component was no longer understood, likely under influence from the adverb well.
Every English word from Proto-Germanic *wiljakwemô
Today it means
adj Whose arrival is a cause of joy; received with gladness; admitted willingly to the house, entertainment, or company.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Germanic *wiljakwemô / welcome