English
wyrm
Wyrm comes from Old English wyrm ‘worm’, and perhaps goes back to Proto-Indo-European *wer- ‘to turn, to bend’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wer-1‘to turn, to bend’uncertain
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wr̥mis2‘worm’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*wurmiz2‘worm, serpent, snake’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*wurmi2‘worm’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150wyrm3‘worm’
- Englishtodaywyrm3
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *wr̥mis
- 2 Wiktionary, Old English wyrm
- 3 Wiktionary, English wyrm
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wer-Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *wr̥mis‘to turn, to bend’uncertain
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wr̥misWiktionary, Old English wyrm‘worm’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*wurmizWiktionary, Old English wyrm‘worm, serpent, snake’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*wurmiWiktionary, Old English wyrm‘worm’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150wyrmWiktionary, English wyrm‘worm’
- EnglishtodaywyrmWiktionary, English wyrm
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *wer- ‘to turn, to bend’
wear, guard, ward, regard, con, garage, warn, beware, garrison, verge, optic, ware, weir, panorama, reverence, revere, wry, prosaic, guaranty, diorama, milliner, 67 more
through Proto-Indo-European *wr̥mis ‘worm’
vermin, vermilion, vermicelli, varmint, vermiculite, vermeil, 13 more
through Proto-West Germanic *wurmi ‘worm’
Today it means
noun A huge limbless and wingless dragon or dragonlike creature.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “wyrm”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Indo-European *wr̥mis, Old English wyrm. 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 *wer- / wyrm