wire

Wire comes from Middle English wir or wyr, from Old English wīr, meaning 'wire, metal thread, or wire-ornament.' That in turn traces back through Proto-Germanic *wīraz to the Proto-Indo-European root *weh₁y-, meaning 'to turn, twist, weave, plait.'

The word has stayed remarkably close to its roots: from the start it named a thin strand of metal, and the older root beneath it simply described the twisting or weaving motion that makes such a strand.