English
window
Window comes from Middle English wyndowe, from Old Norse vindauga ‘window’, literally ‘wind-eye’ (vindr ‘wind’ + auga ‘eye’).
- Old Norsec. 800–1350vindaugaliterally ‘wind-eye; wind-hole’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500wyndowe‘a window’
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1606–1607window
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Old Norsec. 800–1350vindaugaliterally ‘wind-eye; wind-hole’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500wyndowe‘a window’
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1606–1607window
Earliest quotation: c. 1606–1607, William Shakespeare, The Tragedie of Anthonie and Cleopatra: “Wouldst thou be windowed in great Rome and see…”
A compound of vindr ‘wind’ + auga ‘eye’
Proto-Indo-European *h₂weh₁- ‘to blow (of wind)’
Proto-Indo-European *h₂wḗh₁ti ‘to blow (of wind)’
Proto-Indo-European *h₂wéh₁n̥ts ‘blowing’
Proto-Germanic *windaz ‘wind’
Old Norse vindr ‘wind’
Proto-Indo-European *h₃ekʷ- ‘to see’
Proto-Germanic *augô ‘eye’
Proto-Norse auga ‘eye’
Old Norse auga ‘eye’
The story
The “windows” among early Germanic peoples were just unglazed holes (eyes) in the wall or roof that permitted wind to pass through .
Every English word from Old Norse vindauga
Today it means
noun An opening, usually covered by one or more panes of clear glass, to allow light and air from outside to enter a building or vehicle.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Old Norse vindauga / window