English
wyvern
Wyvern comes from Middle English wyver ‘viper’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *gʷeyh₃- ‘to live’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʷeyh₃-‘to live’root as named
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvīpera‘viper’
- VL.modern*vivrareconstructed
- Old Northern Frenchc. 842–1400wivre‘any of various types of snake, viper’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500wyver‘viper’
- Englishearliest quotation 1814wyvern
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʷeyh₃-‘to live’root as named
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvīpera‘viper’
- VL.modern*vivrareconstructed
- Old Northern Frenchc. 842–1400wivre‘any of various types of snake, viper’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500wyver‘viper’
- Englishearliest quotation 1814wyvern
Earliest quotation: 1814, Walter Scott, Castle-Building: “[I]f (notwithstanding his obligations to the three ermines passant)…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *gʷeyh₃- ‘to live’
quick, vital, biology, couch, kidney, vitamin, viable, hygiene, vivid, revive, zodiac, anaerobic, vivacious, vive, biogenesis, convivial, vivacity, 61 more
through Latin vīpera ‘viper’
Today it means
noun A draconian creature possessing wings, only two legs and usually a barbed tail.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *gʷeyh₃- / wyvern