English
where
Where comes from Old English hwǣr ‘where’, from Proto-Germanic *hwar ‘where’ (from *hwaz ‘what’ + a locative suffix), and ultimately from the Proto-Indo-European interrogative root *kʷ-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kʷ-‘the primary interrogative root’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*kʷís‘who’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*hwaz‘who’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanic, derivedc. 500 BCE–200 CE*hwarreconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*hwārreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150hwǣrliterally ‘at what place’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500wher
- Englishearliest quotation 1590where
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kʷ-‘the primary interrogative root’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*kʷís‘who’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*hwaz‘who’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanic, derivedc. 500 BCE–200 CE*hwarreconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*hwārreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150hwǣrliterally ‘at what place’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500wher
- Englishearliest quotation 1590where
Earliest quotation: 1590, Edmund Spenser, Book III, Canto IV: “Finding the nymph a sleepe in secret wheare”.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *kʷ- ‘the primary interrogative root’
neutral, quantity, ubiquitous, rapunzel, ubiquity, whence, cadenza, whither, 12 more
through Proto-Indo-European *kʷís ‘who, what’
how, what, when, why, ut, quid, quip, 5 more
through Proto-Germanic *hwaz ‘who, what’
Today it means
adv In, at or to what place.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *kʷ- / where