English
wing
Wing comes from Middle English winge ‘a wing’, and goes back to Old Norse vængr.
- Old Norsec. 800–1350vængr1
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500winge1‘a wing’
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1593wing1
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English wing
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1593, William Shakespeare, The Tragedy of Richard the Third: […]: “Fiery expedition be my wing.”.
Lineage
- Old Norsec. 800–1350vængrWiktionary, English wing
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500wingeWiktionary, English wing‘a wing’
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1593wingWiktionary, English wing. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1593, William Shakespeare, The Tragedy of Richard the Third: […]: “Fiery expedition be my wing.”
The story
Replaced native Middle English fither (from Old English fiþre, from Proto-Germanic *fiþriją), which merged with Middle English fether (from Old English feþer, from Proto-Germanic *feþrō).
Word family
English words that share an ancestor with wing, grouped by the ancestor they share, most familiar first.
through Proto-Indo-European *h₂weh₁- ‘to blow’
- event ← éventer ← *exventāre ← ventus ← *wē̆ntos
- weather ← weder ← weder ← *wedr ← *wedrą
- van ← vannus ← *watnos
- winter ← *wintru ← *wintruz ← *h₂wéh₁n̥tos ← *h₂wéh₁n̥ts
- athletic ← athletique ← āthlēticus ← ᾱ̓θλητῐκός ← ἀθλητής
- athlete ← āthlēta ← ἀθλητής ← ἀθλέω ← ἆθλον
- wind ← wynd ← *windaz ← *h₂wéh₁n̥tos ← *h₂wéh₁n̥ts
- velocity ← vélocité ← vēlōcitās ← vēlōx ← *h₂weh₁-lo-
- ventilation ← ventilacion ← ventilatio ← ventilo ← ventulus
- ventilate ← ventilātus
8 more relatives in the full family tree
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Today it means
noun An appendage of an animal's (bird, bat, insect) body that enables it to fly.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “wing”. 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 vængr / wing