English word origin

Etymology of wor

Likely ultimately a borrowing into Northumbrian Old English from Old Norse várr (“our”) (from the same Proto-Germanic root *unseraz that produced Standard English our). Compare Scots wir.

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 ↗

det

Our.

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

Likely ultimately a borrowing into Northumbrian Old English from Old Norse várr (“our”) (from the same Proto-Germanic root *unseraz that produced Standard English our). Compare Scots wir.

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

Derivation mentionvárrnon
Cognate mentionouren
Cognate mentionwirsco

Inspect preserved source fields

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

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "non",
        "3": "várr",
        "4": "",
        "5": "our"
      },
      "expansion": "Old Norse várr (“our”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "our"
      },
      "expansion": "English our"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sco",
        "2": "wir"
      },
      "expansion": "Scots wir"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "várr",
      "várr#Old_Norse"
    ],
    [
      "*unseraz",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/unseraz"
    ],
    [
      "our",
      "our#English"
    ],
    [
      "wir",
      "wir#Scots"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "det",
      "glosses": [
        "Our."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Geordie"
      ],
      "recordId": "5da58a4ceddaf2fb8332bcdbf9f0d474c39e710e547d8a1f9797e62387ccbcb0",
      "rawRecordSha256": "d8cc6ef948eda922a0b7dfb647e2b235047c253b225b86f10296f15c77838a23",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 541184
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗

verb

Was; were.

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

From an altered pronunciation of was.

Inspect preserved source fields

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

{
  "templates": [],
  "links": [
    [
      "was",
      "was"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "Was; were."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "East-Midlands",
        "Northern-England",
        "West-Country",
        "dialectal"
      ],
      "recordId": "732ccf3ad6b2af394d53dbfa9867a3b0340c71fb6a7d3855ae448ed96f365339",
      "rawRecordSha256": "ebcff2d2cfa46ce40d958b6b564c6a17f312d38bb5b53d1a3ee17139b69982c2",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 541185
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
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    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

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 wor →

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-d29y