Etymograph

English

woe

Woe comes from Middle English wo ‘Discomfort, distress’, from Old English wā ‘woe! alas!’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *wáy ‘oh!’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wáy‘oh!’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*wai‘woe!’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CEsame form‘woe!, alas!’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150wā‘woe! alas!’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500wo‘Discomfort, distress’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1303woe

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wáy‘oh!’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*wai‘woe!’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CEsame form‘woe!, alas!’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150wā‘woe! alas!’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500wo‘Discomfort, distress’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1303woe

Earliest quotation: 1303, Robert of Brunne: “hys clerk was wo to do þat dede”.

Linked words

through Proto-Germanic *wai ‘woe!’

wail, ween, 1 more

Today it means

noun Great sadness or distress; a misfortune causing such sadness.

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

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *wáy / woe

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