Etymograph

English

wolf

Wolf comes from Middle English wolf, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *wĺ̥kʷos.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wĺ̥kʷos1reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*wulfaz1reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*wulf1reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150wulf1
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500wolf1
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1651wolf1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English wolf
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1651, Jeremy Taylor, The Rule and Exercises of Holy Living. […]: “If God should send a cancer upon thy face,…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wĺ̥kʷosWiktionary, English wolfreconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*wulfazWiktionary, English wolfreconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*wulfWiktionary, English wolfreconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150wulfWiktionary, English wolf
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500wolfWiktionary, English wolf
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1651wolfWiktionary, English wolf. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1651, Jeremy Taylor, The Rule and Exercises of Holy Living. […]: “If God should send a cancer upon thy face,…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *wĺ̥kʷos

lupus, lupin, lobo, loafer, 11 more

Today it means

noun Canis lupus; the largest wild member of the canine subfamily.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “wolf”. 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 *wĺ̥kʷos / wolf

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