*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of wen

From Middle English wen, wenne, from Old English wenn, wænn (“wen”), from Proto-Germanic *wanjaz. Cognate with Dutch wen (“goiter”), Low German Ween (“wen”), dialectal German Wenne (“wen”), Danish van, væne.

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 ↗
noun

A cyst on the skin; a tumor or wart.

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

From Middle English wen, wenne, from Old English wenn, wænn (“wen”), from Proto-Germanic *wanjaz. Cognate with Dutch wen (“goiter”), Low German Ween (“wen”), dialectal German Wenne (“wen”), Danish van, væne.

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

  • Inherited-form mentionwenenm
  • Inherited-form mentionwennang
  • Inherited-form mention*wanjazgem-pro
  • Cognate mentionwennl · goiter
  • Cognate mentionWeennds · wen
  • Cognate mentionWennede · wen
  • Cognate mentionvanda
Inspect preserved source fields

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

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        "1": "en",
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        "3": "wen"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English wen"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "wenn"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English wenn"
    },
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        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*wanjaz"
      },
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    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nl",
        "2": "wen",
        "t": "goiter"
      },
      "expansion": "Dutch wen (“goiter”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nds",
        "2": "Ween",
        "t": "wen"
      },
      "expansion": "Low German Ween (“wen”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "Wenne",
        "t": "wen"
      },
      "expansion": "German Wenne (“wen”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "da",
        "2": "van"
      },
      "expansion": "Danish van"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "wen",
      "wen#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "wenne",
      "wenne#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "wenn",
      "wenn#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "wænn",
      "wænn#Old_English"
    ],
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      "*wanjaz",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/wanjaz"
    ],
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      "wen",
      "wen#Dutch"
    ],
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      "Ween#Low_German"
    ],
    [
      "Wenne",
      "Wenne#German"
    ],
    [
      "van",
      "van#Danish"
    ],
    [
      "væne",
      "væne#Danish"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
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        "A cyst on the skin; a tumor or wart."
      ],
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Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
noun

Obsolete form of wynn (“the letter ƿ”).

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

Inherited from Old English wynn.

Inspect preserved source fields

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

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    },
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    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "wynn",
      "wynn#Old_English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
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        "Obsolete form of wynn (“the letter ƿ”)."
      ],
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Source etymology 3

Original entry ↗
noun

Alternative spelling of when.

pron

Alternative spelling of when.

conj

Alternative spelling of when.

adv

Alternative spelling of when.

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

Eye dialect spelling of when.

Inspect preserved source fields

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

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      "expansion": "Eye dialect spelling of when"
    }
  ],
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    [
      "when",
      "when#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
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      "glosses": [
        "Alternative spelling of when."
      ],
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        "Alternative spelling of when."
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        "Alternative spelling of when."
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        "Alternative spelling of when."
      ],
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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 wen →

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-d2Vu