English word origin

Etymology of wan

3 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗

In this entry · 3 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 ↗

adj

Pale, sickly-looking. · Dim, faint. · Bland, uninterested.

noun

The quality of being wan; wanness.

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

Etymology tree Proto-Germanic *wannaz Proto-West Germanic *wann Old English wann Middle English wan English wan From Middle English wan, wanne (“grey, leaden; pale grey, ashen; blue-black (like a bruise); dim, faint; dark, gloomy”), from Old English wann (“dark, dusky”), from Proto-Germanic *wannaz (“dark, swart”), of uncertain origin. Cognate with Old Frisian wann, wonn (“dark”). The meaning and sense has been attributed to influence from Proto-Brythonic, Proto-Celtic *wasnos (cf. Welsh gwan. Irish fann).

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

Inherited-form mentionwanenm
Inherited-form mentionwannang · dark, dusky
Inherited-form mention*wannazgem-pro · dark, swart
Cognate mentionwannofs
Derivation mention*wasnoscel-pro
Cognate mentiongwancy
Cognate mentionfannga

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": ":inh",
        "3": "enm:wan",
        "tree": "1"
      },
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    },
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      },
      "expansion": "Old English wann (“dark, dusky”)"
    },
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      },
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    },
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    },
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        "2": "cel-bry-pro",
        "3": "-"
      },
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    },
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      },
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    },
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        "2": "gwan"
      },
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    },
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        "1": "ga",
        "2": "fann"
      },
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      "snow-covered",
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      "gwan",
      "gwan#Welsh"
    ],
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      "fann",
      "fann#Irish"
    ]
  ],
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        "Dim, faint.",
        "Bland, uninterested."
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Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗

noun

Pronunciation spelling of one, representing Ireland and Glasgow English. · A girl or woman.

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

Eye dialect spelling of one. Sense 2 (“girl or woman”) possibly as a result of the phrase your wan as a counterpart to your man.

Inspect preserved source fields

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

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Source etymology 3

Original entry ↗

verb

simple past of win.

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

An inflected form.

Inspect preserved source fields

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

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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.

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Contribute located evidence for wan →

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-d2Fu