Etymology

avenge

A1V4E1N1G2E1

Today it means: To take vengeance (for); to exact satisfaction for by punishing the injuring party; to vindicate by inflicting pain or evil on a wrongdoer. Full definition →

Middle English avengen ← Old French avengier ← Latin vindicāre
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*h₂éd
  2. Proto-Italic*ad
  3. Proto-Italic*ad-
  4. Latinad-
  5. Old Frencha-
  6. Proto-Indo-European*wéyHs
  7. Proto-Italic*wīs
  8. Latinvim
  9. Proto-Indo-European*deyḱ-
  10. Proto-Indo-European*déyḱs
  11. Latindīcere
  12. Latinvindex
  13. Latinvindicāre
  14. Old Frenchvengier
  15. Old Frenchavengier
  16. Middle Englishavengen
  17. English todayavenge

Inherited from Middle English avengen, borrowed from Old French avengier, from a- + vengier.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.