Etymologically
Log in

warning

Etymology and origin of the English word warning

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
a. 800
From
Old English warnung

Pronunciation

  • IPA: UK /ˈwɔː.nɪŋ/, US /ˈwɔːr.nɪŋ/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old English warnung, war(e)nung,[2][3][4] the verbal noun of warnian, the source of warn, formed with -ung, the source of -ing.[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Previous notice or threat of coming evil or danger: before 800 in the OED.[5] Taking heed, precaution, is from about 1000, now obsolete.[5][4]

Semantic evolution

Deterrent counsel, advice against an unwise course, is also from about 1000,[5] and advice to beware of a dangerous person or thing from before 1225.[5] A sign or portent of coming evil is from about 1325,[5] the early 14th century in Etymonline,[2] and a person or experience that deters by example later, from 1613 in the OED.[2][5] To take warning is from 1550.[5] The adjective, “that warns”, is from 1511 in Merriam-Webster[3] and 1552 in the OED,[5] as in warning coloration in zoology.[4] A siren signal before an air raid is from 1917,[2] and the police caution given on arrest from 1919.[5] Johnson in 1755 defined it as “caution against faults or dangers; previous notice of ill”.[6]

Timeline

  • a. 800 – notice of danger.[5]
  • c. 1000 – deterrent counsel.[5]
  • a. 1225 – advice to beware.[5]
  • c. 1325 – a portent.[5]
  • 1511 – adjective.[3]
  • 1550 – take warning.[5]
  • 1613 – a deterrent example.[5]
  • 1917 – an air-raid warning.[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A sign, threat or indication of coming danger or harm.
  2. Advice to beware, or to stop doing something.
  3. A cautionary example.
  4. Something, such as a signal, that warns.
  5. Notice given in advance: without warning.

Adjective

  1. Serving to warn: a warning light.

Word family

  • warningly
  • forewarning
  • two-minute warning
  • warning coloration
  • warning track
  • warn
  • wary
  • beware

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Warning.” Etymologically, 15 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/warning. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·