were

were · verb¹

1. Proto-Indo-European*h₂wes-
2. Proto-Germanic*wēzīn
3. Proto-West Germanic*wāʀīn
4. Old Englishwǣre
5. Old Englishwǣron
6. Old Englishwǣren
7. Middle Englishwere
8. English todaywere

Inherited from Middle English were, weren, from Old English wǣre, wǣron, wǣren, from Proto-West Germanic *wāʀun, *wāʀīn, from Proto-Germanic *wēzun, *wēzīn, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂wes-. More at was.

were · noun²

1. Middle English · inherited fromwere
2. English todaywere

Inherited from Middle English were, wer, see wer.

were · noun³

Back-formation from werewolf and other terms in were-, from the same source as English wer, were (“man”) (above).

Words from the same roots