whinge

The story

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*ḱwey-“to hiss, whistle, whisper”
2. Proto-West Germanic · derived from*hwīnan“to whine”
3. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*hwinisōn“to whine”
4. Old English · inherited fromhwinsian“to whine”
5. English todaywhinge

From a northern variant of Old English hwinsian (“to whine”), from Proto-West Germanic *hwinisōn (“to whine”), from Proto-West Germanic *hwīnan (“to whine”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱwey- (“to hiss, whistle, whisper”). Cognate with German winseln (“to whine, whimper”).

Words from the same roots