*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of ooze

* (Noun) Middle English wose (“sap”), from Old English wōs (“sap, froth”), from Proto-Germanic *wōsą, from Proto-Indo-European *wóseh₂ (“sap”) (cf. Sanskrit वसा (vásā, “fat”)). Cognate to Middle Low German wose (“scum”),

2 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 2 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗
noun

Tanning liquor, an aqueous extract of vegetable matter (tanbark, sumac, etc.) in a tanning vat used to tan leather. · An oozing, gentle flowing, or seepage, as of water through sand or earth. · Secretion, humour. · Juice, sap.

verb

To be secreted or slowly leak. · To give off a strong sense of (something); to exude.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

* (Noun) Middle English wose (“sap”), from Old English wōs (“sap, froth”), from Proto-Germanic *wōsą, from Proto-Indo-European *wóseh₂ (“sap”) (cf. Sanskrit वसा (vásā, “fat”)). Cognate to Middle Low German wose (“scum”), Old High German wasal (“rain”), Old Swedish os, oos, ooss, Swedish os. Compare Old Swedish os, oos, Swedish os, Danish os, Norwegian os (“fumes, vapors, reeking, fug”). * (Verb) Middle English wosen, from Old English wōsan; see above. Compare Swedish osa (“ooze”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Inherited-form mentionwoseenm · sap
  • Inherited-form mentionwōsang · sap, froth
  • Inherited-form mention*wōsągem-pro
  • Inherited-form mention*wóseh₂ine-pro
  • Cognate mentionवसाsa · fat
  • Cognate mentionosgmq-osw
  • Cognate mentionossv
  • Cognate mentionosda
  • Cognate mentionosno
  • Inherited-form mentionwosenenm
  • Inherited-form mentionwōsanang
  • Cognate mentionosasv
Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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  "templates": [
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      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "wose",
        "t": "sap"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English wose (“sap”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "wōs",
        "t": "sap, froth"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English wōs (“sap, froth”)"
    },
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        "3": "*wóseh₂",
        "4": "",
        "5": "sap"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *wóseh₂ (“sap”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sa",
        "2": "वसा",
        "tr": "vásā",
        "t": "fat"
      },
      "expansion": "Sanskrit वसा (vásā, “fat”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "gml",
        "2": "",
        "3": "wose",
        "t": "scum"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle Low German wose (“scum”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "goh",
        "2": "",
        "3": "wasal",
        "t": "rain"
      },
      "expansion": "Old High German wasal (“rain”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "gmq-osw",
        "2": "os"
      },
      "expansion": "Old Swedish os"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sv",
        "2": "os"
      },
      "expansion": "Swedish os"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "gmq-osw",
        "2": "os"
      },
      "expansion": "Old Swedish os"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sv",
        "2": "os"
      },
      "expansion": "Swedish os"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "da",
        "2": "os"
      },
      "expansion": "Danish os"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "no",
        "2": "os",
        "3": "",
        "4": "fumes, vapors, reeking, fug"
      },
      "expansion": "Norwegian os (“fumes, vapors, reeking, fug”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "wosen"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English wosen"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "wōsan"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English wōsan"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sv",
        "2": "osa",
        "3": "",
        "4": "ooze"
      },
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    }
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      "wos#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "*wōsą",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/wōsą"
    ],
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      "*wóseh₂",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/wóseh₂"
    ],
    [
      "वसा",
      "वसा#Sanskrit"
    ],
    [
      "os",
      "os#Old_Swedish"
    ],
    [
      "oos",
      "oos#Old_Swedish"
    ],
    [
      "ooss",
      "ooss#Old_Swedish"
    ],
    [
      "os",
      "os#Swedish"
    ],
    [
      "os",
      "os#Old_Swedish"
    ],
    [
      "oos",
      "oos#Old_Swedish"
    ],
    [
      "os",
      "os#Swedish"
    ],
    [
      "os",
      "os#Danish"
    ],
    [
      "os",
      "os#Norwegian"
    ],
    [
      "Verb",
      "#en-verb"
    ],
    [
      "wosen",
      "wosen#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "wōsan",
      "wosan#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "osa",
      "osa#Swedish"
    ]
  ],
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  "descendants": [],
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        "Tanning liquor, an aqueous extract of vegetable matter (tanbark, sumac, etc.) in a tanning vat used to tan leather.",
        "An oozing, gentle flowing, or seepage, as of water through sand or earth.",
        "Secretion, humour.",
        "Juice, sap."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "countable",
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        "To be secreted or slowly leak.",
        "To give off a strong sense of (something); to exude."
      ],
      "tags": [
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        "intransitive",
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Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
noun

Soft mud, slime, or shells especially in the bed of a river or estuary. · A pelagic marine sediment containing a significant amount of the microscopic remains of either calcareous or siliceous planktonic debris organisms. · A piece of soft, wet, pliable ground.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Middle English wose, from Old English wāse (“mud, mire”), from Proto-West Germanic *waisā, from Proto-Germanic *waisǭ (compare Dutch waas (“haze, mist; bloom”), (obsolete) German Wasen (“turf, sod”), Old Norse veisa (“slime, stagnant pool”)), from Proto-Indo-European *weys- (“to flow”) (compare Sanskrit विष्यति (viṣyati, “flow, let loose”)). Compare also Saterland Frisian öäzje (“to smear”). More at virus.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Inherited-form mentionwoseenm
  • Inherited-form mentionwāseang · mud, mire
  • Inherited-form mention*waisāgmw-pro
  • Inherited-form mention*waisǭgem-pro
  • Cognate mentionwaasnl · haze, mist; bloom
  • Cognate mentionWasende · turf, sod
  • Cognate mentionveisanon · slime, stagnant pool
  • Derivation mention*weys-ine-pro · to flow
  • Cognate mentionविष्यतिsa
  • Cognate mentionöäzjestq · to smear
Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "wose"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English wose"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "wāse",
        "t": "mud, mire"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English wāse (“mud, mire”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gmw-pro",
        "3": "*waisā"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-West Germanic *waisā"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
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        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*waisǭ"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *waisǭ"
    },
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      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nl",
        "2": "waas",
        "t": "haze, mist; bloom"
      },
      "expansion": "Dutch waas (“haze, mist; bloom”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "Wasen",
        "t": "turf, sod"
      },
      "expansion": "German Wasen (“turf, sod”)"
    },
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      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "non",
        "2": "veisa",
        "t": "slime, stagnant pool"
      },
      "expansion": "Old Norse veisa (“slime, stagnant pool”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*weys-",
        "t": "to flow"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *weys- (“to flow”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sa",
        "2": "विष्यति",
        "3": "",
        "4": "flow, let loose"
      },
      "expansion": "Sanskrit विष्यति (viṣyati, “flow, let loose”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "stq",
        "2": "öäzje",
        "t": "to smear"
      },
      "expansion": "Saterland Frisian öäzje (“to smear”)"
    }
  ],
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    [
      "wose",
      "wose#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "wāse",
      "wase#Old_English"
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    [
      "*waisā",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/waisā"
    ],
    [
      "*waisǭ",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/waisǭ"
    ],
    [
      "waas",
      "waas#Dutch"
    ],
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      "Wasen",
      "Wasen#German"
    ],
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      "veisa",
      "veisa#Old_Norse"
    ],
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      "*weys-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/weys-"
    ],
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      "विष्यति",
      "विष्यति#Sanskrit"
    ],
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      "öäzje",
      "öäzje#Saterland_Frisian"
    ],
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      "virus",
      "virus#English"
    ]
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Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for ooze →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-b296ZQ