Etymograph

English

guide

Guide comes from Old French guide ‘a guide’, from Frankish *wītan ‘to show the way, lead’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *weyd- ‘to see, know’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*weyd-1‘to see’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*wītaną1‘to see’reconstructed
  3. Frankishc. 250–700*wītan1‘to show the way’reconstructed
  4. Old Occitanc. 950–1500guidar1
  5. Old Occitanc. 950–1500guida1
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400guide1‘a guide’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500guide1
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1611guide1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English guide
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1611, The Holy Bible, London: […] Robert Barker: “He will be our guide, even unto death.”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*weyd-Wiktionary, English guide‘to see’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*wītanąWiktionary, English guide‘to see’reconstructed
  3. Frankishc. 250–700*wītanWiktionary, English guide‘to show the way’reconstructed
  4. Old Occitanc. 950–1500guidarWiktionary, English guide
  5. Old Occitanc. 950–1500guidaWiktionary, English guide
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400guideWiktionary, English guide‘a guide’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500guideWiktionary, English guide
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1611guideWiktionary, English guide. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1611, The Holy Bible, London: […] Robert Barker: “He will be our guide, even unto death.”

The story

Related also to English wit.

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *weyd- ‘to see, know’

story, review, visit, advice, interview, video, evidence, idea, provide, vision, witness, wise, historic, wisdom, visa, advise, invisible, wit, wizard, historian, visibility, vista, idol, witty, evident, revise, envious, prudent, steroid, tabloid, guise, 126 more

through Proto-Germanic *wītaną ‘to see, know’

3 more

through Frankish *wītan ‘to show the way, lead’

guy

Another origin of guide

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*weyd-‘to see, know’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*wītaną‘to see, know’reconstructed
  3. Frankishc. 250–700*wītan‘to show the way, lead’reconstructed
  4. Old Occitanc. 950–1500guidar
  5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400guider
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500guiden
  7. Englishtodayguide

Today it means

noun Someone who guides, especially someone hired to show people around a place or an institution and offer information and explanation, or to lead them through dangerous terrain.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “guide”. 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 *weyd- / guide

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