Etymograph

English

wager

Wager comes from Middle English wajour ‘wager, bet’, from Frankish *waddjōn ‘to pledge’, and ultimately from *wadi ~ *waddī.

  1. Frankishc. 250–700*wadi ~ *waddī1‘pledge’reconstructed
  2. Frankishc. 250–700*waddjōn1‘to pledge’reconstructed
  3. Old Northern Frenchc. 842–1400wageure1
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500wajour1‘wager, bet’
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1673wager1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English wager
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1673, Sir William Temple: “Besides these Plates, the Wagers may be as the…”.

Lineage

  1. Frankishc. 250–700*wadi ~ *waddīWiktionary, English wager‘pledge’reconstructed
  2. Frankishc. 250–700*waddjōnWiktionary, English wager‘to pledge’reconstructed
  3. Old Northern Frenchc. 842–1400wageureWiktionary, English wager
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500wajourWiktionary, English wager‘wager, bet’
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1673wagerWiktionary, English wager. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1673, Sir William Temple: “Besides these Plates, the Wagers may be as the…”

Every English word from Frankish *wadi ~ *waddī

Today it means

noun A bet; a stake; a pledge.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “wager”. 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 / Frankish *wadi ~ *waddī / wager

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