English
wer
Wer comes from Middle English wer ‘a man, a husband’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *weyh₁- ‘to hunt’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*weyh₁-‘to hunt’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*wiHrós‘man, freeman’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*weraz‘man’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*wer‘man’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150wer‘man’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500same form‘a man, a husband’
- Englishearliest quotation 1862same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*weyh₁-‘to hunt’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*wiHrós‘man, freeman’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*weraz‘man’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*wer‘man’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150wer‘man’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500same form‘a man, a husband’
- Englishearliest quotation 1862same form
Earliest quotation: 1862, E. William Robertson, Scotland Under Her Early Kings: “[…]the character of a horseman was inseparable connected with…”
The story
The original meaning of “man” is now preserved only in compounds like werewolf, were wolf (‘man-wolf’) and wergeld, were gild (‘man gold (payment)’).
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *weyh₁- ‘to hunt’
previous, obvious, violent, violation, inevitable, voyage, convey, violate, vengeance, trivial, envoy, trivia, vis, deviation, avenge, deviant, vindication, venison, viaduct, ochre, vim, violator, inviolable, trivium, obviate, 54 more
through Proto-Indo-European *wiHrós ‘man, freeman’
virtual, virtue, virtuous, virtuoso, virile, virility, virago, 5 more
through Old English wer ‘man’
Today it means
noun A man; a male; a husband.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.