The story
- Proto-Indo-European · inherited from*wert-“to turn, bend”
- Proto-Germanic · inherited from*wirþijaz“worthy”
- Proto-West Germanic · derived from*wirþī
- Proto-West Germanic · inherited from-*wirþī
- Old English · inherited from-wierþe“-able”
- Middle English · inherited from-wurthe“-able”
- English today-worthy
Partly from worthy (combining form), and partly continuing Middle English -wurthe (“-able”), from Old English -wierþe (“-able”), from Proto-West Germanic -*wirþī, from Proto-West Germanic *wirþī, from Proto-Germanic *wirþijaz (“worthy”), from Proto-Indo-European *wert- (“to turn, bend”). Cognate with Dutch -waardig (“-worthy”), German -würdig (“-worthy”).
Words from the same roots
Proto-Indo-European*wert- all →
worthdiverseweirdworthyVersaillesstalwarteverturdderidewurstpeevishanimadvertderisiblestalworthvardoVerdandi
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.