"W" Word Origins

wa

Origin

From Thai วา (waa).

Wabash

Origin

Via French Ouabache, from Miami [Term?] (“it shines white”), referring to the Wabash River (which has a limestone bed), ultimately from Proto-Algonquian *wa·p- (“(be) white”).

wack

Origin

A back-formation from "wacky", shortened to describe something disappointingly bad or corny.

wacko

Origin

Formed from "wack(y)" plus the informal "-o" ending, the same pattern seen in words like "cheapo" or "weirdo".

wacky

Origin

From "whack" — originally describing someone who'd taken one too many knocks to the head, hence "odd" — plus the adjective-forming suffix "-y".

wad

Middle English

Likely a shortening of Middle English "wadmal", a coarse woollen cloth, tracing back to Old Norse words for "cloth" and "measure".

Wada

Japanese

Borrowed from Japanese 和田 (Wada).

wadding

Origin

From wad + -ing (“material, collection”).

waddle

Middle English

From Middle English "wadelen", a repeated-action form of "waden" (to wade) — the same root as "wade" plus a frequentative ending.

wade

Old English

From Old English "wadan" (to go or pass through), tracing back to a very old Indo-European root meaning simply "to go".

wadi

Arabic

Borrowed directly from Arabic wādī, meaning "valley" or "riverbed".

wading

Old English

From wade plus the suffix -ing; wade itself traces back through Old English to a very old Germanic root meaning "to go" or "to advance".

Wadsworth

Origin

From the Old English personal name Wæddi + -s- + worþ (“enclosure”).

wafer

Germanic

From Anglo-Norman "wafre", from an older Germanic word related to a honeycomb pattern — the same root that gives us "waffle".

waffle

Dutch

The food sense comes from Dutch "wafel", related to "weave" because of its honeycomb grid. The "talk vaguely" sense grew separately in English, describing rambling, unfocused speech.

waft

Origin

From Middle English waften, of uncertain origin. Possibly from unattested Old English *wafettan, from wafian (“to wave”) + -ettan, or perhaps borrowed from Middle Dutch wachten (“to guard, provide for”). See also German wabern (“to waft”), Faroese veiftra (“to wave”) and Icelandic váfa (“to fluctuate, waver, doubt”).

wafture

Origin

From waft + -ure.

wafty

Origin

From waft + -y.

wag

Old English

From Old English "wagian" (to shake or wave), reinforced by a similar Old Norse word — both from an ancient Germanic root meaning "to move".

wage

Old French

From Old French "gauge/guage", meaning a pledge or payment, ultimately from a Germanic word for "pledge" — the same root that gives us "wager" and "wed".

wager

French

From Old Northern French "wageure", related to "wage" — both trace back to a Germanic word meaning "pledge".

wagerer

Origin

From wager + -er.

waggle

Origin

From Middle English wagelen (attested in wagelyng), possibly a borrowing of Middle Low German wagelen; equivalent to wag + -le (“(frequentative)”). Compare continental equivalents Middle High German wacken ( > Danish vakle, German wackeln), Swedish vagla, West Frisian waggelje, Low German wackeln, Dutch waggelen.

wagon

Dutch

From Middle Dutch "wagen", tracing back to a Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to carry" or "to transport" — the same root behind "way" and "weigh".

wagoner

Origin

From wagon + -er.

wagonload

Origin

From wagon + load.

wagonmaster

Origin

From wagon + master.

wagpastie

Origin

From wag + pastie.

Wagstaff

Middle English

From Middle English waggen (“to move up and down”) + staff (“staff, rod”), an occupational surname for an official who carried a staff.

wagwan

Origin

Borrowed from Jamaican Creole wah gwan (literally “wha’ goi’ on”), a modified form of English what's going on.

wah

Origin

From Nepali वाँ दोन्काँ (wā̃ donkā̃).

wahoo

Origin

The fish's name may derive from "Wahoo", an old spelling of Oahu, one of the Hawaiian islands where it is commonly caught.

wai

Origin

Borrowed from Thai wâi, a gesture of thanks or greeting.

waif

Anglo-Norman

From Anglo-Norman French waif "ownerless property, stray", originally a legal term for goods abandoned by a thief in flight.

Waikiki

Origin

From Hawaiian "Waikīkī".

wail

Old Norse

From Old Norse "væla" (to wail), itself from a word meaning "woe" — tracing back to a very old Indo-European exclamation of grief.

wailing

Origin

From wail + -ing.

wain

Origin

From Middle English wayn, from Old English wæġn, from Proto-West Germanic *wagn, from Proto-Germanic *wagnaz, from Proto-Indo-European *woǵʰnos, from *weǵʰ- (“to bring, transport”). Doublet of wagon, borrowed from Middle Dutch. Cognates Cognate with West Frisian wein, Dutch wagen, German Wagen, Danish vogn, Norwegian vogn, Swedish vagn.

wainman

Origin

Occupational surname for a cartwright, from Middle English wayn (“wagon, cart”) + man.

wainscot

Origin

From Middle English waynscot, from Middle Low German wagenschot or Middle Dutch waghenscote, assumed to be from wagen (“wagon”) (from Old Saxon wagan) + schot, meaning “partition, crossbar," which is from or related to skiotan (“to shoot”).

wainwright

Old English

From Old English "wægnwyrhta" — literally "wain (wagon) wright (maker)".

waist

Old English

From Old English, tracing back to a Germanic root meaning "growth" or "stature" — related to the word "wax" (as in "to wax and wane").

waistband

Origin

A compound of "waist" and "band".

waistcloth

Origin

From waist + cloth.

waistcoat

Origin

A compound of "waist" and "coat".

waistline

Origin

A compound of "waist" and "line".

wait

Anglo-Norman

From Anglo-Norman "waiter" (to watch or guard), from a Frankish word for "watch" — related to the modern word "watch" itself.

waiter

Middle English

From Middle English "wayter" (attendant, watchman) — a straightforward pairing of "wait" plus the agent suffix "-er".