English
wyrd
Wyrd comes from Old English wyrd ‘fate, destiny’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *wert- ‘to turn’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wert-‘to turn’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*wr̥ti-reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*wurdiz‘fate, destiny’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*wurdi‘fate, destiny’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150wyrd‘fate, destiny’
- Englishearliest quotation 1983same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wert-‘to turn’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*wr̥ti-reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*wurdiz‘fate, destiny’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*wurdi‘fate, destiny’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150wyrd‘fate, destiny’
- Englishearliest quotation 1983same form
Earliest quotation: 1983, Brian Bates, The Way of Wyrd: Tales of an Anglo-Saxon Sorcerer: “Wyrd is too vast, too complex for us to…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *wert- ‘to turn’
university, worth, version, word, conversation, universe, ridiculous, divorce, diversity, versus, diverse, verse, vertical, advertisement, versatile, convertible, vortex, advert, divert, adversity, revert, ridicule, pervert, diversification, vertex, vertigo, avert, vert, derision, verso, deride, derisive, perversity, wurst, 72 more
through Old English wyrd ‘fate, destiny’
Today it means
noun Fate, destiny, particularly in an Anglo-Saxon or Old Norse context.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *wert- / wyrd