Etymograph

English

work

Work comes from Old English weorc ‘labor’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *werǵ- ‘to make’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*werǵ-1‘to make’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wérǵom1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*werką1reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*werk1reconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150weorc1‘labor’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500work1
  7. Englishearliest quotation c. 1596–1598work1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English work
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1596–1598, William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice: “Come on Neriſſa, I haue worke in hand /…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*werǵ-Wiktionary, English work‘to make’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wérǵomWiktionary, English workreconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*werkąWiktionary, English workreconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*werkWiktionary, English workreconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150weorcWiktionary, English work‘labor’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500workWiktionary, English work
  7. Englishearliest quotation c. 1596–1598workWiktionary, English work. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1596–1598, William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice: “Come on Neriſſa, I haue worke in hand /…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *werǵ- ‘to make’

wright, organic, organ, boulevard, wrought, orgasm, liturgy, 27 more

through Proto-Indo-European *wérǵom

energy, energetic, allergy, 16 more

through Old English weorc ‘a creation, such as a building or a work of art’

1 more

Another origin of work

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*werǵ-‘to make’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wr̥ǵyéti‘to be working, to be at work’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*wurkijaną‘to work’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150wyrċan‘to work’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500werken
  6. Englishtodaywork

Today it means

noun Labour, occupation, job.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “work”. 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 *werǵ- / work

Shirt and support for this word