Etymograph

English

undine

Undine comes from German Undine ‘an undine’, from Latin unda ‘wave’, and perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *wed- ‘water’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wed-1‘water’root named by Wiktionary
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*udn-om2‘body of water’uncertain
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEunda1‘wave’
  4. New Latinc. 1500–1900undīna1
  5. Germanc. 1650–presentUndine1‘an undine’
  6. Englishtodayundine1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English undine
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin unda

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wed-Wiktionary, English undine‘water’root named by Wiktionary
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*udn-omWiktionary, Latin unda‘body of water’uncertain
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEundaWiktionary, English undine‘wave’
  4. New Latinc. 1500–1900undīnaWiktionary, English undine
  5. Germanc. 1650–presentUndineWiktionary, English undine‘an undine’
  6. EnglishtodayundineWiktionary, English undine

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, und, redundant, undated, inundation, inundate, 9 more

Today it means

noun A female water-sprite or nymph.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “undine”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin unda. 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- / undine

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