wheat

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.'

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.

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.