Etymology dictionary

wisdom (n.) — wonton (n.)

wisdom (n.)

Old English wisdom "knowledge, learning, experience," from wis (see wise (adj.)) + -dom. A common Germanic compound (Old Saxon, Old Frisian wisdom, Old Norse visdomr, Old High German wistuom "wisdom," German Weistum "judicial sentence serving as a precedent").

Wisdom teeth are so called by 1848 (earlier teeth of wisdom, 1660s), a loan-translation of Latin dentes sapientiae, itself a loan-translation of Greek sophronisteres (used by Hippocrates, from sophron "prudent, self-controlled"), so called because they usually appear ages 17-25, when a person reaches adulthood.

wise (n.)

"way of proceeding, manner," Old English wise "way, fashion, custom, habit, manner; condition, state, circumstance," from Proto-Germanic *wison "appearance, form, manner" (see wise (adj.)). Compare Old Saxon wisa, Old Frisian wis, Danish vis, Middle Dutch wise, Dutch wijs, Old High German wisa, German Weise "way, manner." Most common in English now as a word-forming element (as in likewise, clockwise); the adverbial -wise has been used thus since Old English. For sense evolution from "to see" to "way of proceeding," compare cognate Greek eidos "form, shape, kind," also "course of action." Ground sense is "to see/know the way."

wise (adj.)

Old English wis "learned, sagacious, cunning; sane; prudent, discreet; experienced; having the power of discerning and judging rightly," from Proto-Germanic *wissaz (source also of Old Saxon, Old Frisian wis, Old Norse viss, Dutch wijs, German weise "wise"), from past-participle adjective *wittos of PIE root *weid- "to see" (hence "to know"). Modern slang meaning "aware, cunning" first attested 1896. Related to the source of Old English witan "to know, wit."

Wise man was in Old English. Wise guy is attested from 1896, American English; wise-ass (n.) by 1966, American English (probably a literal sense is intended by the phrase in the 1607 comedy "Westward Hoe" by Dekker and Webster). Wisenheimer, with mock German or Yiddish surname suffix, first recorded 1904.

wisely (adv.)

Old English wislice; see wise (adj.) + -ly (2).

wise (v.)

Old English wisean "make wise or knowing" (transitive), cognate with Old Frisian wisa, Old Saxon wisian, Middle Dutch wisen, Dutch wijzen, Old High German wisan, German weisen; from the source of wise (adj.). Intransitive wise up is attested by 1905.

wiseacre (n.)

1590s, partial translation of Middle Dutch wijssegger "soothsayer" (with no derogatory connotation), probably altered by association with Middle Dutch segger "sayer" from Old High German wizzago "prophet," from wizzan "to know," from Proto-Germanic *wit- "to know" (see wit (v.)). The deprecatory sense of "one who pretends to know everything" may have come through confusion with obsolete English segger "sayer," which also had a sense of "braggart" (mid-15c.).

wisecrack (n.)

1906, American English, from wise (adj.) + crack in the "boast" sense (see cracker (n.2)). As a verb from 1915. Related: Wisecracking.

wish (n.)

early 14c., "act of wishing," also "what one wishes for," from wish (v.). Cognate with Old Norse osk, Middle Dutch wonsc, Dutch wens, Old High German wunsc, German Wunsch "a wish." Wish fulfillment (1901) translates German wunscherfüllung (Freud, "Die Traumdeutung," 1900).

wishful (adj.)

1520s, from wish (n.) + -ful. Related: Wishfully; wishfulness. Wishful thinking is recorded from 1907.

wish (v.)

Old English wyscan "to wish, cherish a desire," from Proto-Germanic *wunsk- (source also of Old Norse œskja, Danish ønske, Swedish önska, Middle Dutch wonscen, Dutch wensen, Old High German wunsken, German wunschen "to wish"), from PIE root *wen- (1) "to desire, strive for." Related: Wished; wishing. Wishing well as an enchanted water hole attested by 1819.

wishbone (n.)

also wish-bone, 1860, from wish (n.) + bone (n.); so called from the custom of making a wish while pulling the bone in two with another person. The wishbone breaking custom dates to the early 17c., when the bone was a merrythought.

wishy-washy (adj.)

1690s, "feeble or poor in quality," reduplication of washy "thin, watery." Meaning "vacillating" is attested by 1873.

wisp (n.)

early 14c., "handful or bundle of hay, grass, etc.," used for burning or cleaning or as a cushion; perhaps from an unrecorded Old English word, cognate with Norwegian and Swedish visp "wisp," of unknown origin; sometimes said to be connected with whisk or with Middle Low German and Middle Dutch wispel "a measure of grain." Meaning "thin, filmy portion" first attested 1836.

wispy (adj.)

1717, from wisp + -y (2). Related: Wispiness.

wistful (adj.)

1610s, "closely attentive," perhaps from obsolete wistly "intently" (c. 1500), of uncertain origin. Perhaps formed on the model of wishful. Middle English wistful meant "bountiful, well-supplied," from Old English wist "provisions." The meaning of "longingly pensive, musing" is by 1714. Related: Wistfully; wistfulness.

wist (v.)

"to know" (archaic), c. 1500, from Old English past tense of witan "to know" (cognate with German wusste, past tense of wissen "to know"); see wit. Had-I-wiste was used c. 1400-1550 in sense "regret for something done rashly or heedlessly;" see wist. Proverbial in expression Had-I-wiste cometh ever too late.

Wisteria (n.)

genus of woody vines, 1819, formed by Thomas Nuttall, English botanist, in recognition of American anatomist Caspar Wistar (1761-1818) of Philadelphia + abstract noun ending -ia. The -e- apparently is a misprint. The Wistar Institute was founded in 1892 by his great-nephew and named for him.

wit (v.)

"to know" (archaic), Old English witan (past tense wast, past participle witen) "to know, beware of or conscious of, understand, observe, ascertain, learn," from Proto-Germanic *witanan "to have seen," hence "to know" (source also of Old Saxon witan, Old Norse vita, Old Frisian wita, Middle Dutch, Dutch weten, Old High German wizzan, German wissen, Gothic witan "to know"), from PIE root *weid- "to see." The phrase to wit, almost the only surviving use of the verb, is first recorded 1570s, from earlier that is to wit (mid-14c.), probably a loan-translation of Anglo-French cestasavoir, used to render Latin videlicet (see viz.).

witted (adj.)

late 14c. in compounds, "having wits" (of a certain kind), from wit (n.).

witness (v.)

c. 1300, "bear testimony," from witness (n.). Meaning "affix one's signature to (a document) to establish its identity" is from early 14c. Meaning "see or know by personal presence, observe" is from 1580s. Related: Witnessed; witnessing.

witness (n.)

Old English witnes "attestation of fact, event, etc., from personal knowledge;" also "one who so testifies;" originally "knowledge, wit," formed from wit (n.) + -ness. Old English gewitnes glosses Latin testimonium (Ælfric). Christian use (late 14c.) is as a literal translation of Greek martys (see martyr). Witness stand is recorded from 1853.

wit (n.)

"mental capacity," Old English wit, witt, more commonly gewit "understanding, intellect, sense; knowledge, consciousness, conscience," from Proto-Germanic *wit- (source also of Old Saxon wit, Old Norse vit, Danish vid, Swedish vett, Old Frisian wit, Old High German wizzi "knowledge, understanding, intelligence, mind," German Witz "wit, witticism, joke," Gothic unwiti "ignorance"), from PIE root *weid- "to see," metaphorically "to know." Related to Old English witan "to know" (source of wit (v.)).

Meaning "ability to connect ideas and express them in an amusing way" is first recorded 1540s; that of "person of wit or learning" is from late 15c. For nuances of usage, see humor (n.). Witjar was old slang (18c.) for "head, skull." Witling (1690s) was "a pretender to wit."

witting (adj.)

"aware," mid-14c. (implied in wytindeliche (adv.)), present-participle adjective from wit (v.). Related: Wittingly.

witch (n.)

Old English wicce "female magician, sorceress," in later use especially "a woman supposed to have dealings with the devil or evil spirits and to be able by their cooperation to perform supernatural acts," fem. of Old English wicca "sorcerer, wizard, man who practices witchcraft or magic," from verb wiccian "to practice witchcraft" (compare Low German wikken, wicken "to use witchcraft," wikker, wicker "soothsayer").

OED says of uncertain origin; Liberman says "None of the proposed etymologies of witch is free from phonetic or semantic difficulties." Klein suggests connection with Old English wigle "divination," and wig, wih "idol." Watkins says the nouns represent a Proto-Germanic *wikkjaz "necromancer" (one who wakes the dead), from PIE *weg-yo-, from PIE root *weg- "to be strong, be lively."

That wicce once had a more specific sense than the later general one of "female magician, sorceress" perhaps is suggested by the presence of other words in Old English describing more specific kinds of magical craft. In the Laws of Ælfred (c. 890), witchcraft was specifically singled out as a woman's craft, whose practitioners were not to be suffered to live among the West Saxons:

The other two words combined with it here are gealdricge, a woman who practices "incantations," and scinlæce "female wizard, woman magician," from a root meaning "phantom, evil spirit."

Another word that appears in the Anglo-Saxon laws is lyblæca "wizard, sorcerer," but with suggestions of skill in the use of drugs, because the root of the word is lybb "drug, poison, charm" (see leaf (n.)). Lybbestre was a fem. word meaning "sorceress," and lybcorn was the name of a certain medicinal seed (perhaps wild saffron). Weekley notes possible connection to Gothic weihs "holy" and German weihan "consecrate," and writes, "the priests of a suppressed religion naturally become magicians to its successors or opponents." Whatever the English word's origin, the use of a "poisoner" word for "witch, sorceress" parallels that of the Hebrew word used for "witch, sorceress" in the Levitical condemnation.

In Anglo-Saxon glossaries, wicca renders Latin augur (c. 1100), and wicce stands for "pythoness, divinatricem." In the "Three Kings of Cologne" (c. 1400) wicca translates Magi:

The glossary translates Latin necromantia ("demonum invocatio") with galdre, wiccecræft. The Anglo-Saxon poem called "Men's Crafts" (also "The Gifts of Men") has wiccræft, which appears to be the same word, and by its context means "skill with horses." In a c. 1250 translation of "Exodus," witches is used of the Egyptian midwives who save the newborn sons of the Hebrews: "Ðe wicches hidden hem for-ðan, Biforen pharaun nolden he ben."

Witch in reference to a man survived in dialect into 20c., but the fem. form was so dominant by 1601 that men-witches or he-witch began to be used. Extended sense of "old, ugly, and crabbed or malignant woman" is from early 15c; that of "young woman or girl of bewitching aspect or manners" is first recorded 1740. Witch doctor is from 1718; applied to African magicians from 1836.

witchcraft (n.)

Old English wiccecræft "witchcraft, magic," from wicce (see witch) + cræft "power, skill" (see craft).

Witchcraft was declared a crime in English law in 1542, at the beginning of the Protestant era; trials there peaked in the 1580s and 1640s but fell sharply after 1660. The last, in 1717, ended in acquittal. The Witchcraft Act was repealed 1736. Lecky ("Rationalism in Europe," 1866) examines Hutchinson and Buckle and concludes that belief in witchcraft and sorcery had been common in England even among the most educated at the time of the Restoration in 1660. By 1688, the majority disbelieved it; by 1718 the minority was reduced to the ignorant and an insignificant section of the clergy.

witchery (n.)

1540s, from witch (n.) + -ery.

witch hazel (n.)

1540s, probably from Old English wice "Applied generally or vaguely to various trees having pliant branches" [OED], from wican "to bend" (from PIE root *weik- (2) "to bend, to wind") + hæsel, used for any bush of the pine family (see hazel (n.)). The North American bush, from which a soothing lotion is made, was so called from 1670s. This is the source of the verb witch in dowsing.

witch hunt (n.)

1853 in the literal sense (witch-hunting is from 1630s), from witch (n.) + hunt (n.). The extended sense is attested from 1919, American English, later re-popularized in reaction to Cold War anti-Communism.

witchy (adj.)

1660s, from witch (n.) + -y (2).

witenagemot (n.)

"Anglo-Saxon parliament," Old English witena gemot, from witena, genitive plural of wita "man of knowledge" (related to wit (n.)) + gemot "assembly, council" (see moot (n.)).

with (prep.)

Old English wið "against, opposite, from, toward, by, near," a shortened form related to wiðer, from Proto-Germanic *withro- "against" (source also of Old Saxon withar "against," Old Norse viðr "against, with, toward, at," Middle Dutch, Dutch weder, Dutch weer "again," Gothic wiþra "against, opposite"), from PIE *wi-tero-, literally "more apart," suffixed form of *wi- "separation" (source also of Sanskrit vi "apart," Avestan vi- "asunder," Sanskrit vitaram "further, farther," Old Church Slavonic vutoru "other, second"). Compare widow (n.).

Sense shifted in Middle English to denote association, combination, and union, partly by influence of Old Norse vidh, and also perhaps by Latin cum "with" (as in pugnare cum "fight with"). In this sense, it replaced Old English mid "with," which survives only as a prefix (as in midwife). Original sense of "against, in opposition" is retained in compounds such as withhold, withdraw, withstand.

Often treated as a conjunction by ungrammatical writers and used where and would be correct. First record of with child "pregnant" is recorded from c. 1200. With it "cool" is African-American vernacular, recorded by 1931. French avec "with" was originally avoc, from Vulgar Latin *abhoc, from apud hoc, literally "with this."

withe (n.)

Old English wiððe "twisted cord, tough, flexible twig used for binding, especially a willow twig," from PIE *withjon-, from root *wei- "to turn, twist."

withal (adv.)

"in addition," late 14c., from Middle English with alle (c. 1200), superseding Old English mid ealle "wholly" (see with).

withdraw (v.)

early 13c. (transitive), "to take back," from with "away" + drawen "to draw," possibly a loan-translation of Latin retrahere "to retract." Intransitive sense from mid-13c. Sense of "to remove oneself" is recorded from c. 1300. Related: Withdrawn; withdrawing.

withdrawal (n.)

1820s, "act of taking back," also "retraction of a statement," from withdraw + -al (2). Earlier words in the same sense were withdrawment (1640s); withdraught (mid-14c.). Meaning "removal of money from a bank, etc." is from 1861; psychological sense is from 1916; meaning "physical reaction to the cessation of an addictive substance" is from 1929 (with an isolated use from 1897; withdrawal symptom is from 1910). As a synonym for coitus interruptus from 1889.

withers (n.)

1570s, probably from a dialectal survival of Old English wiðer "against, contrary, opposite" (see with) + plural suffix. Usually said to be so called because the withers are the parts of the animal that oppose the load. Compare German Widerrist "withers," from wider "against" + Rist "wrist."

wither (v.)

1530s, alteration of Middle English wydderen "dry up, shrivel" (late 14c.), intransitive, apparently a differentiated and special use of wederen "to expose to weather" (see weather (v.)). Compare German verwittern "to become weather-beaten," from Witter "weather." Transitive sense from 1550s. Related: Withered; withering; witheringly.

withershins

see widdershins.

withhold (v.)

c. 1200, from with- "back, away" (see with) + holden "to hold" (see hold (v.)); probably a loan-translation of Latin retinere "to withhold." Related: Withheld; withholding. Past participle form withholden was still used 19c.

withy (n.)

Old English wiðig "willow, willow twig," from Proto-Germanic *with- "willow" (source also of Old Norse viðir, Danish vidje, Swedish vide, Old High German wida, German Weide "willow"), from PIE root *wei- "to bend, twist" (source also of Avestan vaeiti- "osier," Greek itea "willow," Latin vītis "vine," Lithuanian vytis "willow twig," Polish witwa, Welsh gwden "willow," Russian vitvina "branch, bough").

within (adv., prep.)

Old English wiðinnan "within, from within," literally "against the inside," see with + in.

without (adv., prep.)

Old English wiðutan "outside of, from outside," literally "against the outside" (opposite of within), see with + out (adv.). As a word expressing lack or want of something (opposite of with), attested from c. 1200. In use by late 14c. as a conjunction, short for without that.

withstand (v.)

Old English wiðstandan "resist, oppose," from wið "against" (see with) + standan "to stand" (see stand (v.)); perhaps a loan-translation of Latin resistere "to resist" (see resist). There are similar formation in Old Norse viðstanda, Old Frisian withstonda, Old High German widarstan, German widerstehen.

In 14c. and early 15c., withsit was used with the same meaning. Related: Withstood; withstanding.

The verbal phrase stand with was in Old English as "strive or contend against;" by c. 1300 it also developed a contrary sense of "make common cause with," which according to OED became obsolete but seems to have revived 21c.

witless (adj.)

Old English witleas "foolish, mad;" see wit (n.) + -less. Phrase scared witless attested from 1975. Related: Witlessly; witlessness.

witty (adj.)

Old English wittig "clever, wise, sagacious; in one's right mind;" see wit (n.) "intellect" + -y (2). Meaning "possessing sparkling wit" is recorded from 1580s. Related: Wittily; wittiness. Middle English had all-witty "omniscient" (c. 1400).

witticism (n.)

1670s, coined by Dryden (as wittycism) from witty on model of criticism.

wittol (n.)

"compliant cuckold," late 15c., witewold, probably from witen "to know" (see wit (v.)) + ending from noun cuckold (Middle English cokewold).

wive (v.)

"to marry (a woman)," Old English wifian, from wif "woman" (see wife). Compare Middle Dutch wiven. Transitive sense "provide with a wife" is from 1510s. Related: Wived; wiving.

wivern (n.)

see wyvern.

wizard (n.)

early 15c., "philosopher, sage," from Middle English wys "wise" (see wise (adj.)) + -ard. Compare Lithuanian žynystė "magic," žynys "sorcerer," žynė "witch," all from žinoti "to know." The ground sense is perhaps "to know the future." The meaning "one with magical power, one proficient in the occult sciences" did not emerge distinctly until c. 1550, the distinction between philosophy and magic being blurred in the Middle Ages. As a slang word meaning "excellent" it is recorded from 1922.

wizardry (n.)

1580s, from wizard + -ry.

wizen (v.)

Old English wisnian, weosnian "to wither, dry up, waste away," from Proto-Germanic *wisnon (source also of Old Norse visna "to wither," Old High German wesanen "to dry up, shrivel, wither;" German verwesen "to decay, rot"). Related: Wizened.

wl-

an initial sound cluster in words in Old English and early Middle English; among the Old English words were wlanc "stately, splendid;" wlætung "nausea;" wlenc "pride, arrogance" (Middle English wlonk); wlite "brightness, beauty, splendor;" wlitig" radiant, physically beautiful (Middle English wliti).

woad (n.)

Old English wad "woad," also the blue dye made from its leaves, from Proto-Germanic *waidīn (source also of Danish vaid, Old Frisian wed, Middle Dutch wede, Dutch wede, Old High German weit, German Waid "woad"), which is perhaps cognate with Latin vitrium "glass" (see vitreous), but Boutkan considers it a substratum word. Formerly much cultivated; since superseded by indigo. French guède, Italian guado are Germanic loan-words.

wobbegong (n.)

type of Australian shark, 1852, an Aboriginal word.

Wobbly (n.)

1914, member of Industrial Workers of the World (I.W.W.). Probably some sort of elaboration of the W aspect of the acronym.

wobble (v.)

1650s, wabble, probably from Low German wabbeln "to wobble;" cognate with Old Norse vafla "hover about, totter," related to vafra "move unsteadily," from Proto-Germanic *wab- "to move back and forth," perhaps from PIE *webh- "to weave" (see waver). Form with -o- is from 1851. Related: Wobbled; wobbling. The noun is attested from 1690s.

wobbly (adj.)

1849, wabbly; see wobble (v.) + -ly (1). Form with -o- is from 1851. Related: Wobbliness.

Woden

Anglo-Saxon god, Old English, see Odin.

woe (n.)

late 12c., from the interjection, Old English wa!, a common exclamation of lament in many languages (compare Latin væ, Greek oa, German weh, Lettish wai, Old Irish fe, Welsh gwae, Armenian vay).

woebegone (adj.)

c. 1300, in expressions such as me is wo bigone "woe has beset me," from woe + begon, past participle of Middle English bego "to beset, surround, overwhelm," from Old English began "go over, traverse; inhabit, occupy; encompass, surround" (see be- + go (v.)). The verb is now obsolete, and its only survival is the fossilized past participle in this word.

woeful (adj.)

early 14c., "afflicted with sorrow," from woe + -ful. Weakened sense of "very bad" recorded by 1610s. Related: Woefully; woefulness.

wog (n.)

c. 1920, "a lower-class babu shipping clerk" [Partridge]; but popularized in World War II British armed forces slang for "Arab," also "native of India" (especially as a servant or laborer), roughly equivalent to American gook. Many acronym origins have been proposed, but none has been found satisfactory. Possibly shortened from golliwog, though Partridge Slang notes difficulties with this as the word was not originally applied to Black people. Nevertheless the derivation has been given as early as 1921.

By 1962, Peter Shaffer's play The Public Eye uses the term in reference to a British man of Greek descent. Woggy, used to describe anyone of non-Anglo-Celtic origin, is attested by 1968, in Australia. The saying "Wogs begin at Calais" is by 1971, and represents a sentiment that all non-British people are wogs. By 1986 it is defined in Lexicographic Description of English as "a dark skinned foreigner." Irvine Welsh's book Trainspotting (1993) references porridge wogs as a slur for Scottish people. Related: Wogland.

wok (n.)

1952, from Cantonese.

woke

past tense of wake (v.).

wold (n.)

Old English wald (Anglian), weald (West Saxon, Kentish) "forest, wooded upland," from Proto-Germanic *walthuz (source also of Old Saxon and Old Frisian wald, Middle Dutch woude, wold, Dutch woud, Middle Low German walde, Old High German wald, German Wald "forest," Swedish vall "pasture," Old Norse völlr "soil, field, meadow"), from PIE root *welt- "woods; wild." The sense development from "forested upland" to "rolling open country" (c. 1200) perhaps is from Scandinavian influence, or a testimony to the historical deforestation of Britain. Not current since mid-16c.; survives mainly in place names (such as Cotswold).

wolf (n.)

Old English wulf "wolf, wolfish person, devil," from Proto-Germanic *wulfaz (source also of Old Saxon wulf, Old Norse ulfr, Old Frisian, Dutch, Old High German, German wolf, Gothic wulfs), from PIE root *wlkwo- "wolf" (source also of Sanskrit vrkas, Avestan vehrka-; Albanian ul'k; Old Church Slavonic vluku; Russian volcica; Lithuanian vilkas "wolf;" Old Persian Varkana- "Hyrcania," district southeast of the Caspian Sea, literally "wolf-land;" probably also Greek lykos, Latin lupus).

Probably extinct in England from the end of the 15th century; in Scotland from the early 18th. Wolves as a symbol of lust are ancient, such as Roman slang lupa "whore," literally "she-wolf" (preserved in Spanish loba, Italian lupa, French louve). The equation of "wolf" and "prostitute, sexually voracious female" persisted into 12c., but by Elizabethan times wolves had become primarily symbolic of male lust. The specific use of wolf for "sexually aggressive male" first recorded 1847; wolf-whistle attested by 1945, American English, at first associated with sailors. The image of a wolf in sheep's skin is attested from c. 1400. See here for a discussion of "wolf" in Indo-European history. The wolf-spider so called for prowling and leaping on its prey rather than waiting in a web.

wolf (v.)

"eat like a wolf," 1862, from wolf (n.). Related: Wolfed; wolfing.

wolfhound (n.)

also wolf-hound, 1799, from wolf (n.) + hound (n.).

wolfish (adj.)

1560s, from wolf (n.) + -ish. Earlier form was wolvish (early 15c.). Related: Wolfishly; wolfishness.

wolfram (n.)

1757, from German Wolfram, wolform "iron tungstate" (1562), of obscure etymology. It looks like "wolf-cream" (from rahm "cream"), but the second element might be Middle High German ram (German Rahm) "dirty mark, soot;" if so, perhaps "so called in sign of contempt because it was regarded of lesser value than tin and caused a considerable loss of tin during the smelting process in the furnace" [Klein]. Or perhaps the word is originally a personal name, "wolf-raven."

wolfsbane (n.)

"aconite" (especially Aconitum lycoctonum), a somewhat poisonous plant, 1540s, from wolf + bane; a translation of Latin lycoctonum, from Greek lykotonon, from lykos "wolf" + base of kteinein "to kill." Also known dialectally as badger's bane, hare's bane, bear's bane.

Wolof (n.)

African people of Senegal and Gambia. Also the name of the Niger-Congo language they speak.

wolverine (n.)

carnivorous mammal, 1610s, alteration of wolvering (1570s), of uncertain origin, possibly from wolv-, inflectional stem of wolf (n.); or perhaps from wolver "one who behaves like a wolf" (1590s).

womanize (v.)

1590s, "to make effeminate," from woman + -ize. Sense of "to chase women, to go wenching" is attested from 1893. Related: Womanized; womanizer; womanizing.

woman (n.)

"adult female human," late Old English wimman, wiman (plural wimmen), literally "woman-man," alteration of wifman (plural wifmen) "woman, female servant" (8c.), a compound of wif "woman" (see wife) + man "human being" (in Old English used in reference to both sexes; see man (n.)). Compare Dutch vrouwmens "wife," literally "woman-man."

The formation is peculiar to English and Dutch. Replaced older Old English wif and quean as the word for "female human being," as in Jesus's answer to his mother, in Anglo-Saxon gospels la, wif, hwæt is me and þe? (John ii:4 "Woman, what have I to do with thee?").

The pronunciation of the singular altered in Middle English by the rounding influence of -w-; the plural retains the original vowel. Meaning "wife," now largely restricted to U.S. dialectal use, is attested from mid-15c.

In American English, lady is "In loose and especially polite usage, a woman" [Craigie, "Dictionary of American English"]. This peculiarity was much commented upon by English travelers; in the U.S. the custom was considered especially Southern, but the English didn't bother with nice distinctions and regarded it simply as American. "This noble word [woman], spirit-stirring as it passes over English ears, is in America banished, and 'ladies' and 'females' substituted; the one to English taste mawkish and vulgar; the other indistinctive and gross. The effect is odd." [Harriet Martineau, 1837]

Woman-hater "misogynist" is from c. 1600. Women's work, that considered appropriate to women, is from 1660s. Women's liberation is attested from 1966; women's rights is from 1840, with an isolated example in 1630s.

womanhood (n.)

late 14c., "condition of being a woman," also "qualities or characteristics considered natural to a woman," from woman + -hood. Meaning "women collectively" is attested from 1520s.

womanise (v.)

chiefly British English spelling of womanize. Related: Womanized; womanizing; womanizer.

womanish (adj.)

late 14c., "womanly, feminine; resembling a woman;" of a man or men, "behaving in the manner of a woman, effeminate," from woman + -ish. Related: Womanishly; womanishness.

womankind (n.)

late 14c., from woman (n.) + kind (n.).

womanly (adj.)

c. 1200, of a man, "wanton, lascivious;" late 14c. of a woman, "feminine," of qualities, "proper to a woman;" from woman + -ly (1). From c. 1400 of men with the sense "effeminate, weak." Related: Womanliness.

womb (n.)

Old English wamb, womb "belly, bowels, heart, uterus," from Proto-Germanic *wambo (source also of Old Norse vomb, Old Frisian wambe, Middle Dutch wamme, Dutch wam, Old High German wamba, German Wamme "belly, paunch," Gothic wamba "belly, womb," Old English umbor "child"), of unknown origin.

wombat (n.)

marsupial mammal of Australia, 1798, from Aboriginal womback, wombar.

women

plural of woman (q.v.).

won

past tense and past participle of win (v.).

wonderment (n.)

1530s, from wonder (v.) + -ment.

wonder (v.)

Old English wundrian "be astonished," also "admire; make wonderful, magnify," from the source of wonder (n.). Cognate with Dutch wonderen, Old High German wuntaron, German wundern. Sense of "entertain some doubt or curiosity" is late 13c. Related: Wondered; wondering.

Reflexive use (It wonders me that "I wonder why ...") was common in Middle English and as late as Tyndale (1533), and is said to survive in Yorkshire/Lincolnshire. In Pennsylvania German areas it is idiomatic from German das wundert mich.

wonder (n.)

Old English wundor "marvelous thing, miracle, object of astonishment," from Proto-Germanic *wundran (source also of Old Saxon wundar, Middle Dutch, Dutch wonder, Old High German wuntar, German wunder, Old Norse undr), of unknown origin. In Middle English it also came to mean the emotion associated with such a sight (late 13c.). To be no wonder was in Old English. The original wonder drug (1939) was Sulfanilamide.

wonderful (adj.)

late Old English wunderfoll; see wonder (n.) + -ful. Related: Wonderfully.

wonderous (adj.)

see wondrous.

wonderland (n.)

"imaginary realm," 1787, from wonder (n.) + land (n.).

wonder woman (n.)

1912, "ideal woman, woman who seems wonderful or has wonderful qualities," from wonder (n.) + woman. The comic book superheroine debuted in DC Comics in 1941.

wonder-worker (n.)

1590s, from wonder (n.) + worker, translating Greek thaumatourgos. Old English had wundorweorc "miracle."

wondrous (adj.)

c. 1500, from Middle English wonders (adj.), early 14c., originally genitive of wonder (n.), with suffix altered by influence of marvelous, etc. As an adverb from 1550s. Related: Wondrously; wondrousness.

wonk (n.)

"overly studious person," 1962, earlier "effeminate male" (1954), American English student slang. Perhaps a shortening of British slang wonky "shaky, unreliable," or a variant of British slang wanker "masturbator." It seemed to rise into currency as a synonym for nerd late 1980s from Ivy League slang and was widely popularized 1993 during the presidency of Bill Clinton. Tom Wolfe (1988) described it as "an Eastern prep-school term referring to all those who do not have the 'honk' voice, i.e., all who are non-aristocratic."

wonky (adj.)

"shaky, groggy, unstable," 1919, of unknown origin. German prefix wankel- has a similar sense. Perhaps from surviving dialectal words based on Old English wancol "shaky, tottering" (see wench (n.)).

won't

contraction of will not, 1610s in plays. See will. Earlier as wynnot (mid-15c.), later wonnot (1580s).

wont (adj.)

"accustomed," Middle English contraction of Old English wunod, past participle of wunian "to dwell, inhabit, exist; be accustomed, be used to," from Proto-Germanic *wunen "to be content, to rejoice" (source also of Old Saxon wunon, Old Frisian wonia "to dwell, remain, be used to," Old High German wonen, German wohnen "to dwell;" related to win (v.) and wean), from PIE root *wen- (1) "to desire, strive for." The original meaning of the Germanic verbs was "be content, rejoice."