Old English words from Proto-Germanic
109 Old English words with Proto-Germanic in their history, whether borrowed directly or passed on through other languages (page 2).
nama
It is inherited from Proto-West Germanic *namō, from Proto-Germanic *namô (“name”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁nómn̥ (“name”). The Germanic cognates are Gothic 𐌽𐌰𐌼𐍉 (namō), Old Norse nafn, Old…
nan
It is inherited from Proto-West Germanic *nain, from Proto-Germanic *nainaz (“none”), made of Proto-Germanic *ne (“not”) and Proto-Germanic *ainaz (“one”). In Old English it is still the negative ne…
neah
It is inherited from Proto-West Germanic *nāhw, from Proto-Germanic *nēhw (“near”), an adverb made from the adjective *nēhwaz (“near”). Related forms are Gothic 𐌽𐌴𐍈𐌰 (nēhwa), the Old Norse prefix…
niht
It is inherited from Proto-West Germanic *nahti, an inflected form of *naht, from Proto-Germanic *nahts (“night”). The Proto-Germanic noun survives in all the old Germanic languages: Gothic 𐌽𐌰𐌷𐍄𐍃…
of
It is the unstressed form of æf. Holthausen and Campbell put it beside stressed æf-, which appears in nouns, while of- is the form in verbs, as in ǣfþunca beside ofþyncan. Both are inherited from…
ofer
1. The word for “over” is inherited from Proto-West Germanic *obar, from Proto-Germanic *uber (“over, above”), from Proto-Indo-European *upér, a comparative form of *upo. Its cognates are Gothic…
on
It is inherited from Proto-West Germanic *ana, from Proto-Germanic *ana (“on, at”). The Proto-Germanic word is continued by Gothic 𐌰𐌽𐌰 (ana), Old Norse á, Old Frisian a, Old Saxon an and Old High…
open
It is inherited from Proto-West Germanic *opan, from Proto-Germanic *upanaz (“open”). The Proto-Germanic adjective survives as Old Norse opinn, Old Frisian open or epen, Old Saxon opan and Old High…
oþer
It is inherited from Proto-West Germanic *anþar, from Proto-Germanic *anþeraz (“the other of two, second”). Its cognates are Gothic 𐌰𐌽𐌸𐌰𐍂 (anþar), Old Norse annarr, Old Frisian ōther, Old Saxon…
rædan
The verb continues a strong verb “to advise” and a weak verb “to make ready”, which fell together in the present. The strong verb is inherited from Proto-West Germanic *rādan, from Proto-Germanic…
reofan
It is inherited from Proto-West Germanic *reufan, from Proto-Germanic *reufaną (“to tear”). Its nearest relative outside West Germanic is Old Norse rjúfa (“to break, rip up”). Orel relates the verb…
riht
It is inherited from Proto-West Germanic *reht (“right, straight”), from Proto-Germanic *rehtaz (“straight”). The adjective is common to the Germanic languages: Gothic 𐍂𐌰𐌹𐌷𐍄𐍃 (raihts), Old Norse…
rowan
It is inherited from Proto-West Germanic *rōan, from Proto-Germanic *rōaną (“to row”). The verb is shared with Old Norse róa, Middle Dutch roeyen (now Dutch roeien) and Middle High German rüejen…
sceadan
It is inherited from Proto-West Germanic *skaiþan, from Proto-Germanic *skaiþaną (“to separate”). Its cognates are Gothic 𐍃𐌺𐌰𐌹𐌳𐌰𐌽 (skaidan, “to separate, divide”), Old Frisian skētha, Old Saxon…
scir
1. The noun for an office or district is inherited from Proto-West Germanic *skīru (“office, district”). Wiktionary takes it to be probably related to the adjective Proto-Germanic *skīriz (“pure…
secan
It is inherited from Proto-West Germanic *sōkijan, from Proto-Germanic *sōkijaną (“to seek, look for”). The verb is found in all the old Germanic languages: Gothic 𐍃𐍉𐌺𐌾𐌰𐌽 (sōkjan), Old Norse sǿkja…
seon
1. The verb “to see” is inherited from Proto-West Germanic *sehwan, from Proto-Germanic *sehwaną (“to see”). Its cognates are Gothic 𐍃𐌰𐌹𐍈𐌰𐌽 (saíƕan), Old Norse sjá, Old Frisian siā, Old Saxon sehan…
settan
It is inherited from Proto-West Germanic *sattjan, from Proto-Germanic *satjaną (“to set, place”), from Proto-Indo-European *sodéyeti. It is the causative of the verb for “to sit” (Old English…
sittan
It is inherited from Proto-West Germanic *sittjan, from Proto-Germanic *sitjaną (“to sit”), from Proto-Indo-European *sédyeti, a present of the root Proto-Indo-European *sed- (“to sit”). The…
spowan
It is inherited from Proto-West Germanic *spōan, from Proto-Germanic *spōaną (“to succeed”). Its cognates are Middle Dutch spoen (“to strive for”) and Old High German spuon (“to succeed”), weak…
sprecan
It is inherited from Proto-West Germanic *sprekan (“to speak”). Its cognates are Old Frisian spreka, Old Saxon sprekan, Old Dutch sprekan and Old High German sprehhan. Ringe and Taylor list it among…
staca
It is inherited from Proto-West Germanic *stakō, from Proto-Germanic *stakô (“stake”). Its cognates include Old Norse hvatstaki, the name of a kind of weapon, Middle Low German stake (“pole”) and…
stan
It is inherited from Proto-West Germanic *stain, from Proto-Germanic *stainaz (“stone”). The Proto-Germanic noun survives in all the old Germanic languages: Gothic 𐍃𐍄𐌰𐌹𐌽𐍃 (stains), Old Norse steinn…
standan
It is inherited from Proto-West Germanic *standan, from Proto-Germanic *standaną (“to stand”). The verb is found in all the old Germanic languages: Gothic 𐍃𐍄𐌰𐌽𐌳𐌰𐌽 (standan), Old Norse standa, Old…
stefn
It is inherited from Proto-West Germanic *stebnu, from Proto-Germanic *stebnō (“voice”). It has cognates in Gothic 𐍃𐍄𐌹𐌱𐌽𐌰 (stibna), Old Frisian stifne, Old Saxon stemna and Old High German stimna…
strican
It is inherited from Proto-West Germanic *strīkan, from Proto-Germanic *strīkaną (“to stroke, to rub”). The strong verb is shared by Old Frisian strīka, Dutch strijken, Middle Low German strīken and…
swete
It is inherited from Proto-West Germanic *swōtī, from Proto-Germanic *swōtuz (“sweet”), from Proto-Indo-European *swéh₂dus (“sweet”). The adjective is found in Old Norse sœtr, Old Frisian swēte, Old…
tæcan
It is inherited from Proto-West Germanic *taikijan, from Proto-Germanic *taikijaną (“to show”). Kroonen records the verb in Old English alone, and explains it as a formation made to the geminated…
tid
It is inherited from Proto-West Germanic *tīdi, from Proto-Germanic *tīdiz (“time”), from Proto-Indo-European *dih₂tís, a noun in *-tis made to the root *deh₂y- (“to divide”). Kroonen reconstructs…
-tig
It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *tigiwiz (“decades, groups of ten”), the plural of Proto-Germanic *teguz (“group of ten”). The noun stands free in Gothic 𐍄𐌹𐌲𐌿𐍃 (tigus) (plural 𐍄𐌹𐌲𐌾𐌿𐍃 (tigjus))…
to
It is inherited from Proto-West Germanic *tō, from Proto-Germanic *tō (“to”). The word is shared by the West Germanic languages: Old Frisian tō, Old Saxon tō and Old High German zuo. Beside it stand…
tredan
It is inherited from Proto-West Germanic *tredan, from Proto-Germanic *trudaną (“to tread”). The West Germanic languages share the vowel ⟨e⟩: Old Frisian treda, Old Dutch tredan and Old High German…
treow
1. The tree is inherited from Proto-West Germanic *treu, from Proto-Germanic *trewą (“tree”). The Proto-Germanic neuter is continued by Gothic 𐍄𐍂𐌹𐌿 (triu, “stick, piece of wood”), Old Norse tré…
un-
1. The negative prefix is inherited from Proto-West Germanic *un-, from Proto-Germanic *un-, from Proto-Indo-European *n̥-, the form the negative particle Proto-Indo-European *né (“not”) takes in…
up
It is inherited from Proto-West Germanic *upp, from Proto-Germanic *upp (“up, upwards”). Orel heads the Germanic word *uppa, with Old Norse upp, Old Frisian up, Old Saxon upp and Old High German…
ut
It is inherited from Proto-West Germanic *ūt, from Proto-Germanic *ūt (“out”), from Proto-Indo-European *úd (“up, out”). The adverb is common Germanic: Gothic 𐌿𐍄 (ut), Old Norse út, Old Frisian ūt…
wæter
It is inherited from Proto-West Germanic *watar, from Proto-Germanic *watōr (“water”), from Proto-Indo-European *wédōr, the collective of Proto-Indo-European *wódr̥ (“water”). The Germanic cognates…
weardian
It is inherited from Proto-West Germanic *wardēn. Köbler gives the verb in Proto-Germanic as *wardēn or *wardōn (“to wait, guard, watch”), Orel as *warđōjanan. Its cognates are Old Saxon wardōn (“to…
weg
It is inherited from Proto-West Germanic *weg, from Proto-Germanic *wegaz (“way, road”). The noun is common Germanic: Gothic 𐍅𐌹𐌲𐍃 (wigs), Old Norse vegr, Old Frisian wei, Old Saxon weg and Old High…
wegan
It is inherited from Proto-West Germanic *wegan, from Proto-Germanic *weganą (“to move, carry”), from Proto-Indo-European *weǵʰ- (“to convey, transport”). The strong verb is found in Gothic 𐌲𐌰𐍅𐌹𐌲𐌰𐌽…
weorþan
It is inherited from Proto-West Germanic *werþan, from Proto-Germanic *werþaną (“to become”). The strong verb is common Germanic: Gothic 𐍅𐌰𐌹𐍂𐌸𐌰𐌽 (wairþan), Old Norse verða, Old Frisian wertha, Old…
witan
1. The verb “to know” is inherited from Proto-West Germanic *witan, from Proto-Germanic *witaną (“to know”). It is a preterite-present verb in all the old Germanic languages: Gothic 𐍅𐌹𐍄𐌰𐌽 (witan)…
wiþ
It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *wiþrą (“toward, against”), probably in a shortened form; the full form is Old English wiþer. The short form is shared with Old Frisian with, Old Saxon with and…
word
It is inherited from Proto-West Germanic *word, from Proto-Germanic *wurdą (“word”). The noun is found in all the old Germanic languages: Gothic 𐍅𐌰𐌿𐍂𐌳 (waurd), Old Norse orð, Old Frisian word, Old…
wyrt
1. It is inherited from Proto-West Germanic *wurti, from Proto-Germanic *wurtiz (“root, plant”). Its cognates are Gothic 𐍅𐌰𐌿𐍂𐍄𐍃 (waurts, “root”), Old Norse urt (“herb”), Old Saxon wurt and Old High…
þær
It is inherited from Proto-West Germanic *þār, from Proto-Germanic *þar (“there”). The adverb is common Germanic: Gothic 𐌸𐌰𐍂 (þar), Old Norse þar, Old Frisian thēr, Old Saxon thār and Old High…
þencan
It is inherited from Proto-West Germanic *þankijan, from Proto-Germanic *þankijaną (“to think”). Its cognates are Gothic 𐌸𐌰𐌲𐌺𐌾𐌰𐌽 (þagkjan), Old Norse þekkja (“to perceive, to know”), Old Frisian…
þing
It is inherited from Proto-West Germanic *þing, from Proto-Germanic *þingą (“appointed time; meeting; matter”). Its cognates are Old Norse þing, Old Frisian thing, Old Saxon thing and Old High…
þurh
It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *þurhw (“through”). The preposition is shared by the other Germanic languages: Gothic 𐌸𐌰𐌹𐍂𐌷 (þairh), Old Frisian thruch, Old Saxon thurh and Old High German…