wed

The story

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*wedʰ-“to pledge”
2. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*wadjōną“to pledge”
3. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*waddjōn
4. Old English · inherited fromweddian“to pledge; wed”
5. Middle English · inherited fromwedden
6. English todaywed

From Middle English wedden, weddien, from Old English weddian (“to pledge; wed”), from Proto-West Germanic *waddjōn, from Proto-Germanic *wadjōną (“to pledge”), from *wadją (“pledge”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *wedʰ- (“to pledge”). Cognate with Scots wed, wod, wad (“to wed”), Saterland Frisian wädje (“to bet, wager”), West Frisian wedzje (“to bet, wager”), Low German and Dutch wedden (“to bet”), German wetten (“to bet”), Danish vædde (“to bet”), Swedish vädja (“to appeal”), Icelandic veðja (“to bet”); more distantly, to Sanskrit वधू (vadhū́, “bride”). Related also to gage, engage, and wage.

Words from the same roots