Etymograph

English

welcome

Welcome comes from Old English wilcuma ‘welcome guest’, from Proto-Germanic *wiljakwemô ‘a wished-for arrival’ (*wiljaną ‘to wish’ + *kwemaną ‘to come’).

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*wiljakwemô1‘a wished-for guest or arrival’reconstructed
  2. Old Englishc. 450–1150wilcuma1‘welcome guest’
  3. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500welcome1
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1692–1717welcome1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English welcome
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1692–1717, Robert South, Twelve Sermons Preached upon Several Occasions: “Truth finds an entrance and a welcome too.”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*wiljakwemôWiktionary, English welcome‘a wished-for guest or arrival’reconstructed
  2. Old Englishc. 450–1150wilcumaWiktionary, English welcome‘welcome guest’
  3. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500welcomeWiktionary, English welcome
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1692–1717welcomeWiktionary, English welcome. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1692–1717, Robert South, Twelve Sermons Preached upon Several Occasions: “Truth finds an entrance and a welcome too.”

A compound of *wiljaną ‘to want’ + *kwemaną ‘to come’

Proto-Indo-European *welh₁- ‘to choose’

Proto-Germanic *wiljaną ‘to want’

Proto-Indo-European *gʷem- ‘to come, to step’

Proto-Indo-European *gʷémt ‘to step, to take a step’

Proto-Germanic *kwemaną ‘to come’

The story

From Middle English welcome, wolcume, wulcume, wilcume, from Old English wilcuma (“a wished-for guest”; compare also wilcume (“welcome!”, interjection)), from Proto-West Germanic *willjakwemō, from Proto-Germanic *wiljakwemô (‘a wished-for arrival or guest’), possibly from *wiljakwemaną (‘to be welcome’), equivalent to will (‘desire’) + come (‘comer, arrival’). The component wil- was replaced by wel- when the sense “guest” of the second component was no longer understood, likely under influence from the adverb well.

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Every English word from Proto-Germanic *wiljakwemô

Today it means

adj Whose arrival is a cause of joy; received with gladness; admitted willingly to the house, entertainment, or company.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “welcome”. 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 *wiljakwemô / welcome

Shirt and support for this word