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warehouse

WAIR-hows · noun

Proto-Indo-EuropeanProto-GermanicProto-West GermanicOld EnglishMiddle EnglishEnglish

Origin

Warehouse is a straightforward English compound, formed by joining ware (goods for sale) with house. Ware itself traces back through Middle English to older Germanic roots.

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Journey

The word has stayed close to its literal meaning from the start: a house for wares, a building where goods are kept before sale or use.

Related words

It shares its second half directly with house, tracing back through Old English hūs and Proto-Germanic *hūsą — the same root that gives us that everyday word for a dwelling.

More words

From Proto-West Germanic

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