Etymograph

English

withe

Withe comes from Old English wiþþe ‘band, tie’, from Proto-Germanic *wiþiz ‘cord, rope’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *wey- ‘to turn, wind, bend’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wey-1‘to turn, wind, bend’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wéh₁itis1‘that which twines’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*wiþiz1‘cord, rope’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150wiþþe1‘band, tie’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500withe1
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1810withe1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English withe
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1810, Washington Irving: “It was most ingeniously secured at vacant hours, by…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wey-Wiktionary, English withe‘to turn, wind, bend’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wéh₁itisWiktionary, English withe‘that which twines’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*wiþizWiktionary, English withe‘cord, rope’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150wiþþeWiktionary, English withe‘band, tie’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500witheWiktionary, English withe
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1810witheWiktionary, English withe. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1810, Washington Irving: “It was most ingeniously secured at vacant hours, by…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *wey- ‘to turn, wind, bend’

weld, guile, wattle, wile, 2 more

through Proto-Indo-European *wéh₁itis ‘that which twines’

novel, vise, 5 more

Today it means

noun A flexible, slender shoot or twig, especially when used as a band or for binding; a withy.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “withe”. 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 *wey- / withe

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