Merriam-Webster identifies Old English wīf as akin to Old High German wīb but supplies no directional derivation or common reconstructed form.
CANONICAL RELATIONSHIP RECORD
COVERAGE LEDGER ↗EDGE / 0907cognate horizonprobable
A CLAIM
YOU CAN AUDIT.
A relationship—not a generated explanation. Both endpoints, every editorial field, every citation, and every dossier reuse are preserved below.
wīf
woman; wife
OPEN NODE 800 ↗DESCENDS FROM→
PARENT / EARLIER FORM / boundaryBeyond secure reconstruction · before the reviewed Old High German wīb horizon · wib deep boundaryUNKNOWN
No securely reconstructed direct ancestor is currently promoted beyond Old High German wīb.
OPEN NODE 905 ↗01
THE COMPLETE RELATIONSHIP
EVERY FIELD, NOT A FAIRY TALE
The English woman and wife noun meets the Old High German field at an unresolved comparative horizon.
No separate chronology note is attached beyond the endpoint date ranges.
Merriam-Webster Editors · Duden Editors
probable — Cognacy is reported, but the common parent is intentionally left UNKNOWN.
reviewed
02
CITATION REGISTER
SOURCES ON THIS EDGE
Wife — Definition and Word HistoryOld English wīf, akin to Old High German wīb
supportsAUDIT SOURCE ↗ORIGINAL ↗Publishes cognacy without a directional ancestor.
Weib — Rechtschreibung, Bedeutung, Definition, HerkunftHerkunft ungeklärt
contextAUDIT SOURCE ↗ORIGINAL ↗Keeps the shared deep horizon explicitly unresolved.
03
EDITORIAL REUSE