*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of wider

From Middle English widder, widdur, widere, from Old English widdra; equivalent to wide + -er.

1 source sectionExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 1 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.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗
adv

comparative form of wide: more wide

adj

comparative form of wide: more wide

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

From Middle English widder, widdur, widere, from Old English widdra; equivalent to wide + -er.

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

  • Inherited-form mentionwidderenm
  • Inherited-form mentionwiddraang
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": "widder"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English widder"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "widdra"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English widdra"
    },
    {
      "name": "suffix",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "wide",
        "3": "er",
        "nocat": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "wide + -er"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "widder",
      "widder#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "widdur",
      "widdur#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "widere",
      "widere#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "widdra",
      "widdra#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "wide",
      "wide#English"
    ],
    [
      "-er",
      "-er#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "adv",
      "glosses": [
        "comparative form of wide: more wide"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "comparative",
        "form-of"
      ],
      "recordId": "1a2476690cdecc19e39a7d12b9a490e6fc91d4805ccd2f66139a1beb064d9433",
      "rawRecordSha256": "a4876e4d30cc23838cb0fbcf87ae507bdabefc29255a1e506caf2f52b79fac45",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 310933
    },
    {
      "pos": "adj",
      "glosses": [
        "comparative form of wide: more wide"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "comparative",
        "form-of"
      ],
      "recordId": "da98d8375f89dd0f88e9ebfe4157d4cf18cdf509b7118dad7b30845361194b64",
      "rawRecordSha256": "32739b692dfd5536de5be01578e8e810a60b2028fa6441f7ec4cc9f788ff252c",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 310932
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "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 wider →

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-d2lkZXI