English
und
Und may come from Old French unde ‘wave’, from Proto-Indo-European *udn-om ‘body of water’, and ultimately from *wed-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wed-1‘water’root named by Wiktionary
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*udn-om2‘body of water’uncertain
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEunda3‘wave’uncertain
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400unde1‘wave’uncertain
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500unde1‘a wave’
- Englishearliest quotation 1592und1
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English und
- 2 Wiktionary, Latin unda
- 3 Wiktionary, Old French unde
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1592, William Wyrley, The true vse of armorie: “The house of Chedle yet after this diuiding it…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wed-Wiktionary, English und‘water’root named by Wiktionary
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*udn-omWiktionary, Latin unda‘body of water’uncertain
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEundaWiktionary, Old French unde‘wave’uncertain
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400undeWiktionary, English und‘wave’uncertain
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500undeWiktionary, English und‘a wave’
- Englishearliest quotation 1592undWiktionary, English und. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1592, William Wyrley, The true vse of armorie: “The house of Chedle yet after this diuiding it…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *wed- ‘water’
water, wet, wash, vodka, hydro, otter, hydrate, vitriol, hydride, vitreous, aldehyde, vedra, 44 more
through Latin unda ‘wave’
abundance, surround, abundant, redundant, undated, inundation, inundate, undine, 9 more
Today it means
noun A wave.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “und”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin unda, Old French unde. 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 *wed- / und