Etymograph

English

walking

Walking comes from Old English wealcende, from Proto-Germanic *walkaną ‘to roll; to walk’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *welH- ‘to roll’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*welH-1‘to roll, undulate’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*welk-1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*walkaną1‘to turn, roll; to walk, wander’reconstructed
  4. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*walkandz1reconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150wealcende1
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500walkynge1
  7. Englishtodaywalking1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English walking

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*welH-Wiktionary, English walking‘to roll, undulate’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*welk-Wiktionary, English walkingreconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*walkanąWiktionary, English walking‘to turn, roll; to walk, wander’reconstructed
  4. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*walkandzWiktionary, English walkingreconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150wealcendeWiktionary, English walking
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500walkyngeWiktionary, English walking
  7. EnglishtodaywalkingWiktionary, English walking

Explore everything descended from *welH- →

Another origin of walking

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*welH-‘to turn, to wind, roll’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*welk-reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*walkaną‘to turn, wind, roll, toss’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*walkan‘to roll (of waves)’reconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150wealcanas wealcende‘to roll, roll around, be rolling’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500walkynge
  7. Englishtodaywalking

From Middle English walkynge, walkinge, walkinde, walkende, walkand, walkande, from Old English wealcende (attested as Old English wealcendes), from Proto-Germanic *walkandz, present participle of Proto-Germanic *walkaną (‘to roll, trample, walk’), equivalent to walk + -ing.

Another origin of walking

  1. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500walkyng
  2. Englishtodaywalking

No ads, ever. This is how the app stays alive.

Become a founding member, $29 onceWear this word, $32Support the app

Today it means

—

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “walking”. 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 *welH- / walking