Etymograph

English

wald

Wald comes from Old English wealdan ‘to rule, control, determine, direct, command,…’, from Proto-Germanic *waldaną ‘to reign’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *waldʰ- ‘to be strong, be powerful, prevail, possess’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*waldʰ-1‘to be strong, be powerful, prevail, possess’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*waldaną1‘to reign’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*waldan1‘to rule, to control’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150wealdan1‘to rule, control, determine, direct, command, govern, possess, wield, exercise, cause’
  5. Northern Middle Englishmodernwalde1
  6. Englishtodaywald1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English wald

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*waldʰ-Wiktionary, English wald‘to be strong, be powerful, prevail, possess’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*waldanąWiktionary, English wald‘to reign’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*waldanWiktionary, English wald‘to rule, to control’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150wealdanWiktionary, English wald‘to rule, control, determine, direct, command, govern, possess, wield, exercise, cause’
  5. Northern Middle EnglishmodernwaldeWiktionary, English wald
  6. EnglishtodaywaldWiktionary, English wald

Linked words

through Proto-Germanic *waldaną ‘to reign’

wield

Another origin of wald

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*waldʰ-‘to be strong, be powerful, prevail, possess’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*waldą‘power’reconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150weald‘power, authority’
  4. Northern Middle Englishmodernwald
  5. Englishtodaywald

Another origin of wald

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wel-‘to perceive, see’uncertain
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*walþuz‘forest’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*walþu‘forest’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150wald
  5. Northern Middle Englishmodernwald
  6. Englishtodaywald

Largely displaced by forest.

Today it means

verb To govern; inherit.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “wald”. 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 *waldʰ- / wald

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