English words first recorded in the 8th century

It is inherited from Middle English welcume, inherited from Old English wilcuma (“welcome guest, welcome!”), with the first part altered under the influence of well, from Old English willa…

1. The adverb is inherited from Middle English wel, inherited from Old English wel, from Proto-Germanic *wela, cognate with Old Frisian wel, Old Saxon wela, Dutch wel, Old High German wola and…

It is inherited from Middle English west, inherited from Old English west (“in or toward the west”), from Proto-Germanic *westaz, which is of uncertain origin. It is usually connected with the root…

It is inherited from Middle English what, spelt whæt in Layamon's Chronicle of Britain and whatt in the “Ormulum”, inherited from Old English hwæt, the neuter of hwā (“who”). It comes from…

It is inherited from Middle English where, also wher, inherited from Old English hwǣr, also hwar and the two-syllable hwāra, from Proto-Germanic *hwar, formed from Proto-Indo-European *kʷo-, the…

It is inherited from Middle English whether, inherited from Old English hwæþer (“which of two”) (also hweþer), from Proto-Germanic *hwatharaz, from Proto-Indo-European *kʷoteros, formed from the…

It is inherited from Middle English while, also whil, inherited from Old English hwīl (“a space of time”), from Proto-Germanic *hwīlō, which Etymonline traces to Proto-Indo-European *kwi-lo-, a…

It is inherited from Middle English who, early hwo, inherited from Old English hwā (“who; anyone, someone”), from Proto-Germanic *hwaz, from Proto-Indo-European *kʷo-, the stem of the relative and…

It is inherited from Middle English hool or hole, inherited from Old English hāl (“entire, unhurt, healthy”), from Proto-Germanic *hailaz, with cognates in Old Frisian hāl, Old Saxon hēl, Dutch…

It is inherited from Middle English wid, wide, inherited from Old English wīd (“wide, vast, long”), from Proto-Germanic *wīdaz, the source also of Old Saxon and Old Frisian wīd, Dutch wijd, Old High…

It is inherited from Middle English welden, inherited from Old English wealdan (“to rule, have power over”), in Anglian waldan, merged with the related weak verb wieldan (“to control, subdue”)…

It is inherited from Middle English wif, inherited from Old English wīf (“woman; wife”), from Proto-Germanic *wībą, a word of uncertain origin and disputed etymology, not found in Gothic. Its…

1. The noun for a creature is inherited from Middle English wight, also wiht, inherited from Old English wiht (“living being, creature; thing”), from Proto-Germanic *wihtiz. Its cognates include Old…

It is inherited from Middle English wilde, inherited from Old English wilde (“in the natural state, uncultivated, untamed”), from Proto-Germanic *wilþijaz, the source also of Old Saxon wildi, Dutch…

1. The auxiliary verb is inherited from Middle English willen, also wilen (past tense wolde), inherited from Old English willan, also wyllan, "to wish, desire; be willing; be about to". It comes…

It is inherited from Middle English winnen, inherited from Old English winnan (“to labour, struggle, fight”), merged with gewinnan (“to gain by struggle, conquer”), both from Proto-Germanic…

1. It is inherited from Middle English wind, inherited from Old English wind, from Proto-Germanic *winda-, the source also of Old Saxon and Dutch wind, Old High German wint (German Wind), Old Norse…

It is inherited from Middle English win, inherited from Old English wīn, from Proto-Germanic *wīnam, an early borrowing from Latin vīnum (“wine”), which is also the source of Old Saxon and Old High…

It is inherited from Middle English winter, inherited from Old English winter, from Proto-Germanic *wintruz, which is of uncertain origin. Barnhart, Hoad and Word Origins derive it from a nasalized…

It is inherited from Middle English wyre, inherited from Old English wīr (“metal drawn out into a thread”), from Proto-Germanic *wīraz, the source also of Old High German wiara “finest gold” and Old…

It is Middle English wisdom, inherited from Old English wīsdōm, from Old English wīs (“wise”) + -dōm (“-dom, condition”) (see wise and -dom). It is a common Germanic compound: compare Old Saxon…

1. It is inherited from Middle English wis, inherited from Old English wīs (“learned, wise, sane, prudent, experienced”), from Proto-Germanic *wīsaz, also the source of Old Frisian and Old Saxon…

It is inherited from Old English witt, more often gewit, understanding, intellect, knowledge (about 725, in Beowulf), from *witją, cognate with Old Saxon wit, German Witz, joke, and Old Norse vit…

It is inherited from Middle English with (“against; with”), inherited from Old English wiþ (“against, opposite; toward, near”), probably a shortened form of the Germanic preposition seen in wiþer…

It is inherited from Middle English witti, also witi, inherited from Old English wittig, also witig and gewittig, formed from witt (“intellect, mind”) and the adjective suffix -ig, the ancestors of…

It is inherited from Middle English wo, also wa, inherited from Old English wā, also wǣ, an exclamation of grief. It comes from Proto-Germanic *wai, and is cognate with Old Saxon wē, Dutch wee, Old…

It is inherited from Middle English wode, inherited from Old English wudu, earlier widu (“tree, trees collectively, forest; the substance of trees”), from Proto-Germanic *widuz, from…

It is inherited from Middle English wolle, inherited from Old English wull, from Proto-Germanic *wulnō, cognate with Old Frisian wolle, Dutch wol, Old High German wolla (modern German Wolle) and Old…

It is inherited from Middle English word, inherited from Old English word (“speech, talk, utterance, statement, news”), from Proto-Germanic *wurdą, from Proto-Indo-European *werdh-, an extended form…

The noun is inherited from Middle English werk, later work, inherited from Old English weorc, also worc and werc, "a deed, something done, action, business". It goes back to Proto-Germanic *werką…

It is inherited from Middle English worien (“to strangle, choke”), an alteration of earlier werien, wirien, inherited from Old English wyrgan (“to strangle”), from Proto-Germanic *wurgjan. It is…

It is inherited from Middle English werse, wurse, worse, inherited from Old English wiersa (“more evil, culpable, unpleasant”), wyrsa, from Proto-Germanic *wers-izon-, the comparative of…

1. The injury is Middle English wounde, inherited from Old English wund (“hurt, injury”), from Proto-Germanic *wundō, cognate with Old Saxon wunda, Dutch wond, German Wunde and Old Norse und; its…

It is inherited from Middle English writen, inherited from Old English wrītan (“to score, outline, draw; to write”), from Proto-Germanic *wrītan, “to tear, scratch”, the source also of Old Saxon…

It is inherited from Middle English yelpen (“to boast, brag”), inherited from Old English ġielpan (“to boast, exult”), Anglian gelpan, also gilpan and gylpan, from Proto-Germanic *gelpaną. It is…

It is inherited from Middle English yet, also yit, inherited from Old English ġīet, ġīeta, also ġȳt and ġēta, an Anglo-Frisian word whose only close cognate is Old Frisian iēta (also ēta, īta). Most…

It is inherited from Middle English you, also yow, inherited from Old English ēow, the dative and accusative plural of the second-person pronoun, whose nominative was gē, modern ye. It comes from…

It is inherited from Middle English yong, inherited from Old English geong (“youthful, young”), from Proto-Germanic *junga-, which goes back to Proto-Indo-European *yuwn̥kós, a suffixed form of…

It is inherited from Middle English your, early also ȝiure and ȝeuwer, inherited from Old English ēower, the genitive of gē (“ye”), the source of ye. Old English used ēower both as the genitive, "of…

It is inherited from Middle English youthe, earlier youhthe, inherited from Old English ġeoguþ (“youth; young people; young warriors”), from Proto-West Germanic *jugunþ-, altered, according to the…

It is Middle English ye, ya, inherited from Old English gēa, Anglian gē, so, yes, from Proto-Germanic *ja, an affirmative word found throughout Germanic: compare Old Saxon jā, Dutch ja, German ja…

It is inherited from Middle English after, also efter, inherited from Old English æfter (“behind; later in time; in pursuit of”), from Proto-Germanic *after (“behind”). Its cognates include Old…

It is inherited from Old English bryht, by metathesis from beorht, Anglian berht, “bright; splendid; clear-sounding; beautiful; divine”, from Proto-Germanic *berhtaz (“bright”), also the source of…

It is inherited from Middle English oke, ook, inherited from Old English āc (“oak tree”), partly also from Old Norse eik, from Proto-Germanic *aiks, source also of Old Saxon ēk, Dutch eik and German…

It is inherited from Middle English biquethen, inherited from Old English becweþan, formed from Old English be- + cweþan (“to say”). The prefix meant "about" and made the verb transitive. The simple…

It is inherited from Middle English bitwene, inherited from Old English betwēonum, Mercian betwīnum, formed from Old English be- (“by”) + twēonum (“two each”), the second element being the dative…

It is inherited from Middle English binne, inherited from Old English binne (“manger, basket, crib”), probably of Celtic origin: compare Gaulish benna (“wicker cart”), preserved in Medieval Latin…

It is inherited from Middle English brid, bird, inherited from Old English bridd (“young bird, nestling”), with a rare form bird, of unknown or uncertain origin, with no corresponding form in any…

It is inherited from Middle English bridegome, earlier brudgume, inherited from Old English brȳdguma (“bridegroom; suitor”), a compound of brȳd (“bride”) and guma (“man”). The second part was later…

It is inherited from Middle English child, inherited from Old English cild (“fetus, infant”), from Proto-Germanic *kiltham, a word that Hoad calls peculiar to English. Its closest relatives are Old…

It is inherited from Middle English chirche, inherited from Old English cirice, from Proto-West Germanic *kirika, probably borrowed by way of an unrecorded Gothic word from Ancient Greek κυρικόν…

It is inherited from Middle English clene (“clear, pure”), inherited from Old English clǣne (“free from dirt; morally pure; clear”), from Proto-West Germanic *klainja- (“clear, pure”), the source…

It is inherited from Middle English clensen, early also clænsen, inherited from Old English clǣnsian (“to cleanse, purify, chasten, clear oneself”), from clǣne (“clean, pure”), which is clean. The…

It is inherited from Old English dēaf (about 750, in Cynewulf's Juliana), from *daubaz, cognate with Dutch doof, German taub, Old Norse daufr and Gothic daufs, unperceptive. It goes back to an…

It is inherited from Middle English euere, inherited from Old English ǣfre (“ever, at any time, always”), a word with no cognates in the other Germanic languages and of uncertain origin. Its first…

It is inherited from Middle English fish, fiss, inherited from Old English fisc, from Proto-Germanic *fiskaz, related to Old Saxon and Old High German fisc, Old Norse fiskr, Dutch vis, German Fisch…

It is inherited from Middle English gaderen, inherited from Old English gadrian (“to unite, assemble, collect”), from Proto-West Germanic *gadurōn, from the base of together, cognate with Old…

It is inherited from Middle English glas, inherited from Old English glæs (“glass; a glass vessel”), from Proto-Germanic *glasam (“glass”), from Proto-Indo-European *ghel- (“to shine”), the root of…

1. The frozen rain is inherited from Middle English hail, inherited from Old English hægl, also hagol, from Proto-Germanic *haglaz, cognate with Old Frisian heil, Old Saxon hagal, Old High German…

It is inherited from Middle English hervest, inherited from Old English hærfest (“autumn”), from Proto-Germanic *harbistaz, source also of Dutch herfst and German Herbst (“autumn”) and Old Norse…