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wheat

WEET · noun

Proto-GermanicProto-West GermanicOld EnglishMiddle EnglishEnglish

Origin

Wheat comes from Middle English whete, from Old English hwǣte, from Proto-West Germanic *hwaitī, from Proto-Germanic *hwaitijaz, which traces back to *hwītaz, meaning 'white.'

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Journey

The word has stayed remarkably close to its Old English form, hwǣte, through Middle English whete to modern wheat, with no major shift in meaning recorded.

Related words

Wheat shares its deepest root with the word white — both descend from the Proto-Germanic *hwītaz, likely a nod to the pale color of wheat flour.

More words

From Proto-West Germanic

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