English
work
Work comes from Old English weorc ‘labor’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *werǵ- ‘to make’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*werǵ-‘to make’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*wérǵomreconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*werkąreconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*werkreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150weorc‘labor’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500work
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1596–1598work
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*werǵ-‘to make’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*wérǵomreconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*werkąreconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*werkreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150weorc‘labor’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500work
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1596–1598work
Earliest quotation: c. 1596–1598, William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice: “Come on Neriſſa, I haue worke in hand /…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *werǵ- ‘to make’
wright, organic, organ, boulevard, wrought, orgasm, liturgy, metallurgy, bulwark, irksome, wark, irk, 22 more
through Proto-Indo-European *wérǵom
energy, energetic, allergy, argon, erg, 14 more
through Old English weorc ‘a creation, such as a building or a work of art’
Another origin of work
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*werǵ-‘to make’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*wr̥ǵyéti‘to be working, to be at work’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*wurkijaną‘to work’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150wyrċan‘to work’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500werken
- Englishtodaywork
Today it means
noun Labour, occupation, job.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *werǵ- / work