whin

The story

1. Proto-Indo-European · inherited from*ḱweyn-“to soil; mud; filth”
2. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*hwainō
3. Old Norse · derived fromhvein“gorse, furze”
4. Middle English · inherited fromwhynne
5. English todaywhin

From Middle English whynne, from Old Norse hvein (“gorse, furze”) (compare Norwegian kvein (“bent grass”), Swedish ven (“bent grass”), dialectal hven (“swamp”)), apparently from hvein (“swampy land”), from Proto-Germanic *hwainō, *hwin- (“swamp; moor”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱweyn- (“to soil; mud; filth”). Compare Latin caenum (“filth”), Latin inquīnō (“to sully; soil”).

Words from the same roots