Etymograph

English

waterly

Waterly comes from Old English wæterlīċ ‘aquatic’, from wæter ‘water’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *wed-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wed-1‘water’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wódr̥1‘water’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*watōr1‘water’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*watar1‘water’reconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150wæter2‘water’
  6. Old Englishc. 450–1150wæterlīċ3‘aquatic’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500watirly3
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1981waterly3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Old English wæter
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Old English wæterlic
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English waterly
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1981, American Congress on Surveying and Mappi: “Firstly, a set of waterly elements which may not…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wed-Wiktionary, Old English wæter‘water’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wódr̥Wiktionary, Old English wæter‘water’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*watōrWiktionary, Old English wæter‘water’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*watarWiktionary, Old English wæter‘water’reconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150wæterWiktionary, Old English wæterlic‘water’
  6. Old Englishc. 450–1150wæterlīċWiktionary, English waterly‘aquatic’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500watirlyWiktionary, English waterly
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1981waterlyWiktionary, English waterly. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1981, American Congress on Surveying and Mappi: “Firstly, a set of waterly elements which may not…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *wed- ‘water’

wet, wash, und, abundance, surround, abundant, redundant, otter, vitriol, vitreous, anhydrous, undine, inundate, 43 more

through Proto-Indo-European *wódr̥ ‘water’

vodka, hydro, hydrate, hydride, aldehyde, vedra, 19 more

Today it means

adj Of or relating to water; aquatic.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “waterly”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Old English wæter, Old English wæterlic. 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 *wed- / waterly

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