Etymograph

English

avenge

Avenge comes from Old French avengier ‘to avenge’, from Latin vindex ‘protector, defender, maintainer’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *weyh₁- ‘to pursue’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*weyh₁-1‘to pursue’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wéyHs2‘force, strength’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*wīs2‘strength, force, power’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvim2
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdīcere2
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvindex2‘protector, defender, maintainer’
  7. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvindicāre2
  8. Old Frenchc. 842–1400vengier2‘to avenge, to take revenge (upon)’
  9. Old Frenchc. 842–1400avengier2‘to avenge’
  10. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500avengen2
  11. Englishearliest quotation 1609avenge2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *wéyHs
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English avenge
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1609, Bishop Hall: “thy judgment in avenging thine enemies”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*weyh₁-Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *wéyHs‘to pursue’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wéyHsWiktionary, English avenge‘force, strength’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*wīsWiktionary, English avenge‘strength, force, power’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvimWiktionary, English avenge
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdīcereWiktionary, English avenge
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvindexWiktionary, English avenge‘protector, defender, maintainer’
  7. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvindicāreWiktionary, English avenge
  8. Old Frenchc. 842–1400vengierWiktionary, English avenge‘to avenge, to take revenge (upon)’
  9. Old Frenchc. 842–1400avengierWiktionary, English avenge‘to avenge’
  10. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500avengenWiktionary, English avenge
  11. Englishearliest quotation 1609avengeWiktionary, English avenge. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1609, Bishop Hall: “thy judgment in avenging thine enemies”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *weyh₁- ‘to pursue’

previous, obvious, virtual, inevitable, virtue, trivial, voyage, convey, trivia, deviation, virtuous, envoy, deviant, virtuoso, wer, viaduct, ochre, virile, venison, virility, virago, trivium, obviate, 51 more

through Proto-Italic *wīs ‘strength, force, power’

violent, violation, violate, vis, violator, inviolable, 9 more

through Latin vim

vim, 8 more

through Latin vindex ‘protector, defender, maintainer’

vindication, vindicate, 8 more

through Old French vengier ‘to avenge, to take revenge (upon)’

vengeance, 5 more

Today it means

verb To take vengeance (for); to exact satisfaction for by punishing the injuring party; to vindicate by inflicting pain or evil on a wrongdoer.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “avenge”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Proto-Indo-European *wéyHs. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *weyh₁- / avenge

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