German words from Old High German
623 German words with Old High German in their history, whether borrowed directly or passed on through other languages (page 10).
verschwinden
It is inherited from Middle High German verswinden, inherited from Old High German firswintan, formed from German ver- + schwinden. The same formation is Old Saxon farswindan, Middle Low German…
versprechen
It is inherited from Middle High German versprechen, inherited from Old High German firsprehhan (“to deny, reject; to defend”), inherited from Proto-West Germanic *frasprekan, formed with the prefix…
verstehen
It is inherited from Middle High German verstān, inherited from Old High German firstān, inherited from Proto-West Germanic *frastān, a West Germanic prefixed form of stehen with ver-. As with the…
Versuch
It is inherited from Middle High German versuoch, inherited from Old High German firsuoh (“test, proof”), a noun belonging to versuchen, Middle High German versuochen, formed with ver- from suchen…
vertreten
It is inherited from Middle High German vertreten, inherited from Old High German firtretan (“to trample down”), inherited from Proto-West Germanic *fratredan (“to tread upon”), formed with the…
verweisen
1. The verb meaning “to rebuke” is inherited from Middle High German verwīzen, inherited from Old High German firwīzan, inherited from Proto-West Germanic *frawītan, inherited from Proto-Germanic…
verwenden
It is inherited from Middle High German verwenden (“to turn away, turn round”), inherited from Old High German firwenten (“to avert, hold back”), a prefixed form of wenten (“to turn”), the ancestor…
viel
It is inherited from Middle High German vil, inherited from Old High German filu, inherited from Proto-West Germanic *felu, inherited from Proto-Germanic *felu. The same word is Gothic 𐍆𐌹𐌻𐌿 (filu)…
vier
It is inherited from Middle High German vier, inherited from Old High German fior, inherited from Proto-West Germanic *feuwar, inherited from Proto-Germanic *fedwōr (“four”). The same numeral is Old…
vierte
It is inherited from Middle High German vierde, inherited from Old High German fiordo, inherited from Proto-West Germanic *feurþō, inherited from Proto-Germanic *fedurþô (“fourth”), the ordinal of…
Volk
It is inherited from Middle High German volc, inherited from Old High German folc, inherited from Proto-West Germanic *folk, inherited from Proto-Germanic *fulką (“troop, army; people”). The same…
voll
It is inherited from Middle High German vol, inherited from Old High German fol, inherited from Proto-West Germanic *full, inherited from Proto-Germanic *fullaz (“full”). The same adjective is…
von
It is inherited from Middle High German von, inherited from Old High German fona, beside the rarer northern fana. The preposition is found only in the continental West Germanic languages: Old Saxon…
vor
It is inherited from Middle High German vor (also vore), inherited from Old High German fora, inherited from Proto-West Germanic *forē, inherited from Proto-Germanic *fur- (“before”), a form that…
vorsehen
It is inherited from Middle High German vorsëhen, inherited from Old High German forasëhan (“to foresee”), inherited from Proto-West Germanic *forēsehwan, formed from vor- and sehen. The same…
Vortrag
It is a noun formed from the verb vortragen, which could be narrowed to the sense “put forward in words”. The verb is inherited from Middle High German vürtragen, inherited from Old High German…
wachsen
1. The verb meaning “to grow” is inherited from Middle High German wahsen, inherited from Old High German wahsan, inherited from Proto-West Germanic *wahsan, inherited from Proto-Germanic *wahsijaną…
Wagen
It is inherited from Middle High German wagen, inherited from Old High German wagan, inherited from Proto-West Germanic *wagn, inherited from Proto-Germanic *wagnaz (“wagon”). The same word is Old…
Wahl
It is inherited from Middle High German wale, inherited from Old High German wala (“choice”), inherited from Proto-West Germanic *walu, inherited from Proto-Germanic *walą (“choice”). It corresponds…
wählen
It is inherited from Middle High German weln, inherited from Old High German wellen, inherited from Proto-West Germanic *walljan, inherited from Proto-Germanic *waljaną (“to choose”). The same verb…
wahr
It is inherited from Middle High German wār, inherited from Old High German wār, inherited from Proto-West Germanic *wār, inherited from Proto-Germanic *wēraz. Beside it stood a j-stem wāri, wære…
Wald
It is inherited from Middle High German walt, inherited from Old High German wald, inherited from Proto-West Germanic *walþu, inherited from Proto-Germanic *walþuz (“forest, wild land”). The same…
warnen
It is inherited from Middle High German warnen, inherited from Old High German warnōn, inherited from Proto-West Germanic *warnōn (“to take heed, warn”). The same verb is Old English wearnian…
warten
It is inherited from Middle High German warten, inherited from Old High German wartēn, inherited from Proto-West Germanic *wardēn, inherited from Proto-Germanic *wardāną (“to guard, watch over”)…
warum
It is inherited from Middle High German warumbe, inherited from Old High German wārumbi, formed from Old High German wār (“where”) + umbi (“around, about”): the adverbs that became wo and um. The…
was
It is the neuter of wer: inherited from Middle High German waz, inherited from Old High German waz (also hwaz), inherited from Proto-West Germanic *hwat, inherited from Proto-Germanic *hwat…
Wasser
It is inherited from Middle High German wazzer, inherited from Old High German wazzar, inherited from Proto-West Germanic *watar, inherited from Proto-Germanic *watōr (“water”). West Germanic has…
wechseln
It is inherited from Middle High German wëhseln, inherited from Old High German wehsalōn, inherited from Proto-Germanic *wihslōną (“to change, exchange”), formed from the noun Wechsel, Old High…
weder
It is inherited from Middle High German weder, inherited from Old High German wedar (“which of two”), inherited from Proto-West Germanic *hwaþar, inherited from Proto-Germanic *hwaþeraz (“which of…
Weg
It is inherited from Middle High German wec, inherited from Old High German weg, inherited from Proto-West Germanic *weg, inherited from Proto-Germanic *wegaz (“way”). The same word is Gothic 𐍅𐌹𐌲𐍃…
weil
It is inherited from Middle High German wîle, shortened from die wîle, inherited from Old High German thiu wīla sō (“as long as”): an accusative of time of the noun that is today Weile, literally…
Weise
It is inherited from Middle High German wīs(e), inherited from Old High German wīsa (“manner, way”), from a feminine noun Proto-Germanic *wīsō (“manner”). The same word is Old Saxon wīsa, Old…
weisen
It is inherited from Middle High German wīsen, inherited from Old High German wīsen (“to lead, show”), inherited from Proto-West Germanic *wīsijan, inherited from Proto-Germanic *wīsijaną. The same…
weiß
It is inherited from Middle High German wīz, inherited from Old High German wīz, inherited from Proto-West Germanic *hwīt, inherited from Proto-Germanic *hwītaz (“white”). The same adjective is Old…
weit
It is inherited from Middle High German wīt, inherited from Old High German wīt, inherited from Proto-Germanic *wīdaz (“wide”). The same word is Old Saxon wīd, Old Norse víðr, Old English wīd and…
weiter
It is the comparative adverb of weit: inherited from Middle High German wīter, inherited from Old High German wītōr. The adjective is wīt, Proto-Germanic *wīdaz (“wide”), the same word as Old…
welcher
It is inherited from Middle High German welich, inherited from Old High German welīh, inherited from Proto-Germanic *hwalīkaz (“of what form”), a compound of the pronominal stem of wer and…
Welt
It is inherited from Middle High German werlt, inherited from Old High German weralt, inherited from Proto-West Germanic *weraldi, inherited from Proto-Germanic *weraldiz. The same word is Old Saxon…
wenig
It is inherited from Middle High German weinic, wênec, inherited from Old High German wēnag (“pitiable, wretched”), inherited from Proto-Germanic *wainagaz (“woeful, miserable”). The same word is…
wenn
It is inherited from Middle High German wenne, inherited from Old High German hwenne, inherited from Proto-West Germanic *hwan. It is a variant of wann, whose functions were differentiated only…
wer
It is inherited from Middle High German wer, inherited from Old High German hwer. The related words are Old Saxon hwē, Old English hwā and Gothic 𐍈𐌰𐍃 (ƕas), and today Dutch wie, English who and…
werden
It is inherited from Middle High German werden, inherited from Old High German werdan, inherited from Proto-West Germanic *werþan, inherited from Proto-Germanic *werþaną (“to become”). The same…
werfen
It is inherited from Middle High German werfen, inherited from Old High German werfan, inherited from Proto-West Germanic *werpan, inherited from Proto-Germanic *werpaną (“to throw”), a strong verb…
Werk
It is inherited from Middle High German werc, inherited from Old High German werc, inherited from Proto-Germanic *werką (“work”). The same word is Old Saxon werk, Old Norse verk, Old English weorc…
Wert
It is inherited from Middle High German wert, inherited from Old High German werd, inherited from Proto-Germanic *werþą (“worth, price”), the adjective wert used as a noun, a step taken in all the…
wesentlich
It is inherited from Middle High German wesenlich, inherited from Old High German wesantlīh (“being, substantial”), an adjective formed with -līh beside Old High German wesan (“being, existence”)…
Wetter
It is inherited from Middle High German weter, inherited from Old High German wetar, inherited from Proto-Germanic *wedrą (“weather”). The same word is Old Saxon wedar (“weather, storm”), Old Norse…
wie
It is inherited from Middle High German wie, inherited from Old High German hwio, inherited from Proto-Germanic *hwaiwa, probably the same word as Gothic 𐍈𐌰𐌹𐍅𐌰 (ƕaiwa, “how”). The modern form has…
wieder
It is inherited from Middle High German wider, inherited from Old High German widar, inherited from Proto-West Germanic *wiþr, inherited from Proto-Germanic *wiþra- (“against, back”), and is in…
Winter
It is inherited from Middle High German winter, also winder, inherited from Old High German wintar, inherited from Proto-Germanic *wintruz (“winter”). Kluge reconstructs Proto-Germanic *went-r-…
wir
It is inherited from Middle High German wir, inherited from Old High German wir, inherited from Proto-West Germanic *wiʀ, inherited from Proto-Germanic *wīz (“we”). The same word is Gothic 𐍅𐌴𐌹𐍃…
wirken
It is inherited from Middle High German wirken, inherited from Old High German wirken, inherited from Proto-West Germanic *wirkijan, inherited from Proto-Germanic *wirkijaną (“to make, produce”)…
Wirtschaft
It is inherited from Middle High German wirtschaft, inherited from Old High German wirtscaft, formed from German Wirt + -schaft, and so originally meant whatever belongs to the activity of a Wirt…
wissen
It is inherited from Middle High German wizzen, inherited from Old High German wizzan, inherited from Proto-West Germanic *witan, inherited from Proto-Germanic *witaną (“to know”). It is a…
wo
It is inherited from Middle High German wā, inherited from Old High German hwār, inherited from Proto-West Germanic *hwār; late Middle High German had wō. The same word is Old Saxon hwār, Old…
Woche
It is inherited from Middle High German woche, inherited from Old High German wohha, older wehha, inherited from Proto-West Germanic *wikā, inherited from Proto-Germanic *wikǭ (“sequence, week”)…
wohl
It is inherited from Middle High German wol, inherited from Old High German wola, inherited from Proto-Germanic *wela (“well”), the adverb that served for gut in all the Germanic languages. Old High…
wohnen
It is inherited from Middle High German wonen, inherited from Old High German wonēn (“to stay, dwell; to be accustomed”), inherited from Proto-West Germanic *wunēn, inherited from Proto-Germanic…
Wohnung
It is inherited from Middle High German wonunge (“dwelling, abode; region; habit”), inherited from Old High German wonunga (“dwelling”), a noun formed with -unga from the verb wonēn (“to dwell…
wollen
It is inherited from Middle High German wollen (also wellen), inherited from Old High German wellen (in Franconian also wollen from the 9th century), inherited from Proto-Germanic *wiljaną (“to…