Etymograph

English

wet

Wet comes from Middle English wet, the past participle of weten ‘to wet’, from Old English wǣtan, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *wed- ‘water’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wed-1‘water’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*wētaz1‘wet’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*wētijaną1‘to wet’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*wātijan1‘to wet’reconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150wǣtan1‘to wet’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500weten1‘to wet’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500wet1‘wet’past participle of weten
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1671wet1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English wet
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1671, John Milton, The Fourth Book: “Now the sun, with more effectual beams, / Had…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wed-Wiktionary, English wet‘water’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*wētazWiktionary, English wet‘wet’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*wētijanąWiktionary, English wet‘to wet’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*wātijanWiktionary, English wet‘to wet’reconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150wǣtanWiktionary, English wet‘to wet’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500wetenWiktionary, English wet‘to wet’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500wetWiktionary, English wet‘wet’past participle of weten
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1671wetWiktionary, English wet. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1671, John Milton, The Fourth Book: “Now the sun, with more effectual beams, / Had…”

Linked words

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

water, wash, und, abundance, vodka, surround, abundant, hydro, redundant, otter, hydrate, vitriol, hydride, vitreous, aldehyde, vedra, inundate, undine, 44 more

through Middle English weten ‘to wet’

weet

Today it means

adj Made up of liquid or moisture, usually (but not always) water.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “wet”. 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- / wet

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