Etymograph

English

waning

Waning comes from Middle English waning, and goes back to Proto-Germanic *wanungō.

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*wanungō1reconstructed
  2. Old Englishc. 450–1150wanung1
  3. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500waning1
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1829waning1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English waning
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1829, Edgar Allan Poe, Tamerlane: “And boyhood is a summer sun Whose waning is…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*wanungōWiktionary, English waningreconstructed
  2. Old Englishc. 450–1150wanungWiktionary, English waning
  3. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500waningWiktionary, English waning
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1829waningWiktionary, English waning. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1829, Edgar Allan Poe, Tamerlane: “And boyhood is a summer sun Whose waning is…”

Every English word from Proto-Germanic *wanungō

Today it means

noun The fact or act of becoming less or less intense or present; fading.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “waning”. 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-Germanic *wanungō / waning

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