Etymology

weep

W4E1E1P3

Today it means: To cry; to shed tears, especially when accompanied with sobbing or other difficulty speaking, as an expression of emotion such as sadness or joy. Full definition →

Middle English wepen ← Old English wēpan ← Proto-West Germanic *wōpijan
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weep · verb, noun1

  1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*weh₂b-“to call, cry, complain”
  2. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*wōpijaną“to weep”
  3. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*wōpijan
  4. Old English · inherited fromwēpan“to weep, complain, bewail, mourn over, deplore”
  5. Middle English · inherited fromwepen
  6. English todayweep

From Middle English wepen, from Old English wēpan (“to weep, complain, bewail, mourn over, deplore”), from Proto-West Germanic *wōpijan, from Proto-Germanic *wōpijaną (“to weep”), from Proto-Indo-European *weh₂b- (“to call, cry, complain”). Cognate with Scots weep (“to weep”), Saterland Frisian wapia (“to cry, complain”), Icelandic æpa (“to yell, shout”), Proto-Slavic *vъpiti (“to weep”).

weep · noun2

Imitative of its cry.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.