English
wear
Wear comes from Middle English weren, from Old English werian ‘to clothe, wear’, from Proto-Germanic *wazjaną, from PIE *wes- ‘to dress’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wes-1‘to dress, put on’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*wazjaną1‘to clothe’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*waʀjan1‘to clothe’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150werian1‘to clothe; wear’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500weren1‘to wear’
- Englishearliest quotation 1553wear1
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English wear
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1553, John Brende: “He ware upon his head a diademe of purple…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wes-Wiktionary, English wear‘to dress, put on’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*wazjanąWiktionary, English wear‘to clothe’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*waʀjanWiktionary, English wear‘to clothe’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150werianWiktionary, English wear‘to clothe; wear’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500werenWiktionary, English wear‘to wear’
- Englishearliest quotation 1553wearWiktionary, English wear. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1553, John Brende: “He ware upon his head a diademe of purple…”
The story
Originally a weak verb (i.e. with a past tense in -ed), it became irregular during the Middle English period by analogy with verbs like beren (whence bear) and teren (whence tear).
Word family
English words that share an ancestor with wear, grouped by the ancestor they share, most familiar first.
through Proto-Indo-European *wes- ‘to dress, put on (clothes)’
through Old English werian ‘to clothe, cover over’
- weir ← were ← wer
through Middle English weren ‘to wear particular clothing or jewelry’
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Another origin of wear
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wer-‘to close, cover, protect, save, defend’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*warjaną‘to defend, protect, ward off’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*warjan‘to ward off, to defend against’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150werian‘to guard, keep, defend’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500weren‘to wear particular clothing or jewelry’
- Englishtodaywear
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Today it means
verb To have on: To carry or have equipped on or about one's body, as an item of clothing, equipment, decoration, perfume, etc.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “wear”. 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 *wes- / wear