English word origin

Etymology of wager

From Middle English wajour, wageour, wager, from Old Northern French wageure, from wagier (“to pledge”) (compare Old French guagier, whence modern French gager and contemporary Walloon wadjî), ultimately from Frankish *w

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 ↗

verb

To bet something; to put it up as collateral. · To suppose; to dare say.

noun

A bet; a stake; a pledge. · The subject of a bet. · A contract by which two parties or more agree that a certain sum of money, or other thing, shall be paid or delivered to one of them, on the happening or not happening of an uncertain event. · An offer to make oath.

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

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

Inherited-form mentionwajourenm
Cognate mentionguagierfro
Cognate mentionwadjîwa

Inspect preserved source fields

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

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      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "wajour"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English wajour"
    },
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      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "fro-nor",
        "3": "wageure"
      },
      "expansion": "Old Northern French wageure"
    },
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      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
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        "2": "guagier"
      },
      "expansion": "Old French guagier"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "wa",
        "2": "wadjî"
      },
      "expansion": "Walloon wadjî"
    },
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      },
      "expansion": "Frankish *waddjōn (“to pledge”)"
    },
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        "2": "frk",
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      },
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    }
  ],
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      "wager#Middle_English"
    ],
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      "wageure",
      "wageure#Old_French"
    ],
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      "wagier#Old_French"
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      "guagier#Old_French"
    ],
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      "gager#French"
    ],
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      "wadjî#Walloon"
    ],
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      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/waddjōn"
    ],
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      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/wadi"
    ],
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      "wage",
      "wage#English"
    ]
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        "To bet something; to put it up as collateral.",
        "To suppose; to dare say."
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        "The subject of a bet.",
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Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗

noun

Agent noun of wage; one who wages.

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

Etymology tree Old Northern French wagebor. Middle English wage English wage Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-os? Proto-Indo-European *-o- Proto-Indo-European *-so- Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂so- Proto-Indo-European *-yós Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂s(i)yós Proto-Italic *-āsijos Proto-Italic *-āsios Latin -āriusnom. Latin -āriusbor. Proto-Germanic *-ārijaz Proto-West Germanic *-ārī Old English -ere Middle English -ere ▲ Latin -ārius Old French -ierbor. Middle English -er English -er English wager From wage (verb) + -er.

Inspect preserved source fields

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

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      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nOld Northern French wagebor.\nMiddle English wage\nEnglish wage\nProto-Indo-European *-eh₂\nProto-Indo-European *-os?\nProto-Indo-European *-o-\nProto-Indo-European *-so-\nProto-Indo-European *-eh₂so-\nProto-Indo-European *-yós\nProto-Indo-European *-eh₂s(i)yós\nProto-Italic *-āsijos\nProto-Italic *-āsios\nLatin -āriusnom.\nLatin -āriusbor.\nProto-Germanic *-ārijaz\nProto-West Germanic *-ārī\nOld English -ere\nMiddle English -ere\n▲\nLatin -ārius\nOld French -ierbor.\nMiddle English -er\nEnglish -er\nEnglish wager\n[Appendix:Glossary#loanword|Borrowed]] from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ ], \"lang_name\" : \"Old Northern French\", \"term\" : \"wage\", \"status\" : \"missing\", \"lang\" : \"fro-nor\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"bor\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Middle English\", \"term\" : \"wage\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"enm\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : 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\"lang\" : \"gmw-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Old English\", \"term\" : \"-ere\", \"lang\" : \"ang\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Middle English\", \"term\" : \"-ere\", \"lang\" : \"enm\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" }, { \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"agentive\", \"children\" : [ { \"keyword_abbrev\" : \"bor.\", \"keyword_label\" : \"Borrowed from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"nouns\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"is_duplicate\" : true, \"children\" : [ ], \"id\" : \"agent noun\", \"status\" : { \"1\" : \"la\", \"2\" : \":nom\", \"3\" : \"-ārius<id:adjective>\", \"id\" : \"agent noun\", \"title\" : \"-ārius\", \"pos\" : \"suffix\" }, \"lang_name\" : \"Latin\", \"term\" : \"-ārius\", \"lang\" : \"la\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Old French\", \"term\" : \"-ier\", \"lang\" : \"fro\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"bor\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Middle English\", \"term\" : \"-er\", \"lang\" : \"enm\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"-er\", \"lang\" : \"en\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"is_group\" : true, \"keyword\" : \"affix\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"wager\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }\" data-lang=\"en\" data-title=\"wager\">\nFrom wage (verb) + -er."
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      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/-os#Proto-Indo-European:_athematic"
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        "Agent noun of wage; one who wages."
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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 wager →

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-d2FnZXI