wem

wem · noun¹

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*wemh₁-“to spew, vomit”
2. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*wammaz“stain, spot”
3. Old English · inherited fromwomm“stain, spot”
4. Middle English · inherited fromwem
5. English todaywem

From Middle English wem, wemme, from Old English womm (“stain, spot”), from Proto-Germanic *wammaz (“stain, spot”), from Proto-Indo-European *wemh₁- (“to spew, vomit”). Cognate with Icelandic vamm (“loss, damage”), Latin vomō (“to vomit”, verb) (whence English vomit), Ancient Greek ἐμέω (eméō, “to spew”) (English emesis), Lithuanian vémti (“to vomit”), Sanskrit वमति (vamati, “to vomit”). The sense development would be "vomit" > "stain", "fault".

Wem · proper noun²

1. Old English · derived fromwamm
2. English todayWem

Recorded as Weme 1086 (Domesday Book); from Old English wamm or wemm.

Words from the same roots