working

working · noun¹

1. Old English · inherited fromwyrċing“working”
2. Middle English · inherited fromwerking
3. English todayworking

From Middle English werking, werkynge, warkynge, worchinge, from Old English wyrċing (“working”), verbal noun of wyrċan (“to work”), equivalent to work + -ing. Cognate with Scots wirking, warking, Dutch werking, German Wirkung.

working · verb, adjective²

1. Proto-Germanic · derived from*wurkijaną“to work”
2. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*wurkijandz
3. Old English · inherited fromwyrċende
4. Middle English · inherited fromworkyng
5. English todayworking

From Middle English workyng, wirkynge, worchinge, werchinge, workinde, wirkand, worchende, wurchende, from Old English wyrċende, from Proto-Germanic *wurkijandz, present participle of Proto-Germanic *wurkijaną (“to work”), equivalent to work + -ing. Compare Scots wirkand, werkand, warkand (“working”), Dutch werkend (“working, acting”), German wirkend (“acting, working”).

Working · proper noun³

1. German · derived fromWerking
2. English todayWorking

Probably an Americanized form of German Werking.

Words from the same roots