English
world
World comes from Middle English world, from Old English weorold, from Proto-Germanic *weraldiz ‘lifetime, age of man’ (wer ‘man’ + eld ‘age’).
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*weraldiz1‘lifetime’literally ‘age/era of man’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*weraldi1reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150weorold1
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500world1‘the world’
- Englishearliest quotation 1610–1611world1
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English world
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1610–1611, William Shakespeare: “O wonder! / How many goodly creatures are there…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*weraldizWiktionary, English world‘lifetime’literally ‘age/era of man’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*weraldiWiktionary, English worldreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150weoroldWiktionary, English world
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500worldWiktionary, English world‘the world’
- Englishearliest quotation 1610–1611worldWiktionary, English world. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1610–1611, William Shakespeare: “O wonder! / How many goodly creatures are there…”
A compound of *weraz ‘man’ + *aldiz
Proto-Indo-European *weyh₁- ‘to chase, pursue’
Proto-Indo-European *wiHrós ‘man’
Proto-Germanic *weraz ‘man’
Proto-Indo-European *h₂el- ‘to grow, nourish’
Proto-Indo-European *h₂életi ‘to be nourishing’
Proto-Germanic *alaną ‘to grow’
Proto-Germanic *aldiz
The story
Eclipsed non-native Middle English mounde (‘world’), from Old French monde, munde (‘world’).
Every English word from Proto-Germanic *weraldiz
Today it means
noun The subjective human experience, regarded collectively; human collective existence; existence in general; the reality we live in.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “world”. 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-Germanic *weraldiz / world