Etymograph

English

vow

Vow comes from Old French vut ‘wish’, from Latin vōtum ‘a promise, dedication, vow’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁wegʷʰ-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁wegʷʰ-1‘to promise’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁wogʷʰéyeti1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*woɣʷeō1‘to vow, promise’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvoveō2as vovēre‘to promise, vow’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvōtum2‘a promise, dedication, vow’
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400vut2‘wish’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500vowe2
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1611vow2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin voveo
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English vow
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1611, The Holy Bible, London: […] Robert Barker: “And Moses spake vnto the heads of the tribes,…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁wegʷʰ-Wiktionary, Latin voveo‘to promise’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁wogʷʰéyetiWiktionary, Latin voveoreconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*woɣʷeōWiktionary, Latin voveo‘to vow, promise’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvoveōWiktionary, English vowas vovēre‘to promise, vow’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvōtumWiktionary, English vow‘a promise, dedication, vow’
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400vutWiktionary, English vow‘wish’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500voweWiktionary, English vow
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1611vowWiktionary, English vow. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1611, The Holy Bible, London: […] Robert Barker: “And Moses spake vnto the heads of the tribes,…”

The story

Not related to avow.

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Latin voveō ‘to promise, vow’

devotion, devote, devout, 1 more

through Latin vōtum ‘a promise, dedication, vow’

vote, votive

Today it means

noun A solemn promise to perform some act, or behave in a specified manner, especially a promise to live and act in accordance with the rules of a religious order.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “vow”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin voveo. 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 *h₁wegʷʰ- / vow

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