wan-

/wɒn/

prefix

Preceding nouns and adjectives with the sense “bad”, “un-”.

OriginMiddle English wan- ← Old English wan- ← Proto-West Germanic *wana- →
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Meanings

prefix
  1. idiomaticPreceding nouns and adjectives with the sense “bad”, “un-”.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*h₁weh₂-“to be lacking, be empty”
  2. Proto-Germanic*wanaz“lacking, missing, deficient”
  3. Proto-West Germanic*wana-
  4. Old Englishwan-
  5. Middle Englishwan-
  6. Englishwan-

From Middle English wan-, from Old English wan-, from Proto-West Germanic *wana-, from Proto-Germanic *wanaz (“lacking, missing, deficient”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁weh₂- (“to be lacking, be empty”).

More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-West Germanic

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

wan-. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/wan-

MLA

“wan-.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/wan-. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “wan-,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/wan-.

Source: wan- on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.