Etymograph

English

aver

Aver comes from Early Medieval Latin advērō, from Latin vērus ‘true’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *weh₁ros.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*weh₁ros1‘true’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*wēros1‘true’reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvērus2‘true’
  4. Early Medieval Latinmodernadvērō2
  5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400averer2
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500averren2
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1611aver2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin verus
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English aver
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1611, The Tragedie of Cymbeline: “[…] I return'd with ſimular proofe enough, / To…”.

Earlier history uncertain. See Wiktionary.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*weh₁rosWiktionary, Latin verus‘true’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*wērosWiktionary, Latin verus‘true’reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvērusWiktionary, English aver‘true’
  4. Early Medieval LatinmodernadvērōWiktionary, English aver
  5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400avererWiktionary, English aver
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500averrenWiktionary, English aver
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1611averWiktionary, English aver. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1611, The Tragedie of Cymbeline: “[…] I return'd with ſimular proofe enough, / To…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *weh₁- ‘true’

warlock, veritable, 4 more

through Latin vērus ‘true’

very, verification, veracity, veritas, verity, verily, 6 more

Today it means

verb To assert the truth of (something); to affirm (something) with confidence; to declare (something) in a positive manner.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “aver”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin verus. 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 *weh₁ros / aver

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