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wire

WYRE · noun

Proto-Indo-EuropeanProto-GermanicOld EnglishMiddle EnglishEnglish

Origin

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.'

Journey

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.

Related words

The facts given don't name any specific English cognate beyond wire's own ancestral chain, so no related word can be confirmed here.

More words

From Proto-Germanic

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