Etymograph

English

wound

Wound comes from Old English wund ‘a wound, an injury’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *wen- ‘to strive, toil, win’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wen-1‘to strive, toil, win’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*wundō1reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*wundu1reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150wund1‘a wound, an injury’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500wund1
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1595wound1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English wound
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1595, The Life and Death of King Richard the Second: “Showers of blood / Rained from the wounds of…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wen-Wiktionary, English wound‘to strive, toil, win’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*wundōWiktionary, English woundreconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*wunduWiktionary, English woundreconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150wundWiktionary, English wound‘a wound, an injury’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500wundWiktionary, English wound
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1595woundWiktionary, English wound. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1595, The Life and Death of King Richard the Second: “Showers of blood / Rained from the wounds of…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *wen- ‘to strive, toil, win’

win, winner, won

Today it means

noun An injury, such as a cut, stab, or tear, to a (usually external) part of the body.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “wound”. 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 *wen- / wound

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