Etymograph

English

watch

Watch comes from Middle English wacchen, from Old English wæċċan, and ultimately from Proto-Germanic *wakjaną.

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*wakjaną1reconstructed
  2. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*wakkjan1reconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150wæċċan1
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500wacchen1
  5. Englishearliest quotation c. 1603–1604watch1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English watch
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1603–1604, William Shakespeare, The Tragedie of Othello, the Moore of Venice: “He upbraids Iago, that he made him Brave me…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*wakjanąWiktionary, English watchreconstructed
  2. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*wakkjanWiktionary, English watchreconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150wæċċanWiktionary, English watch
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500wacchenWiktionary, English watch
  5. Englishearliest quotation c. 1603–1604watchWiktionary, English watch. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1603–1604, William Shakespeare, The Tragedie of Othello, the Moore of Venice: “He upbraids Iago, that he made him Brave me…”

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Another origin of watch

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*woǵ-éye-reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*wakjaną‘to wake up, to awaken’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*wakkjan‘to wake, awaken’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150wæċċan‘to be or stay awake’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500wacchen‘to be or stay awake’
  6. Englishtodaywatch

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Today it means

noun A portable or wearable timepiece.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “watch”. 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 *wakjaną / watch