English
window
Window comes from Middle English wyndowe, from Old Norse vindauga ‘window’, literally ‘wind-eye’ (vindr ‘wind’ + auga ‘eye’).
- Old Norsec. 800–1350vindauga1literally ‘wind-eye; wind-hole’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500wyndowe1‘a window’
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1606–1607window1
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English window
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1606–1607, William Shakespeare, The Tragedie of Anthonie and Cleopatra: “Wouldst thou be windowed in great Rome and see…”.
Lineage
- Old Norsec. 800–1350vindaugaWiktionary, English windowliterally ‘wind-eye; wind-hole’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500wyndoweWiktionary, English window‘a window’
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1606–1607windowWiktionary, English window. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1606–1607, William Shakespeare, The Tragedie of Anthonie and Cleopatra: “Wouldst thou be windowed in great Rome and see…”
A compound of vindr ‘wind’ + auga ‘eye’
Proto-Indo-European *h₂weh₁- ‘to blow (of wind)’
Proto-Indo-European *h₂wḗh₁ti ‘to blow (of wind)’
Proto-Indo-European *h₂wéh₁n̥ts ‘blowing’
Proto-Germanic *windaz ‘wind’
Old Norse vindr ‘wind’
Proto-Indo-European *h₃ekʷ- ‘to see’
Proto-Germanic *augô ‘eye’
Proto-Norse *ᚨᚢᚷᚨ ‘eye’
Old Norse auga ‘eye’
The story
The “windows” among early Germanic peoples were just unglazed holes (eyes) in the wall or roof that permitted wind to pass through .
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Today it means
noun An opening, usually covered by one or more panes of clear glass, to allow light and air from outside to enter a building or vehicle.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “window”. 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 / Old Norse vindauga / window