*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of verb

From Middle English verbe, directly from Latin verbum (“word, verb”), reinforced by Old French verbe, from Proto-Indo-European *werdʰo-. Doublet of verve and word.

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 use any word that is or was not a verb (especially a noun) as if it were a verb. · Used as a placeholder for any verb.

noun

A word that indicates an action, event, or state of being. · Any word; a vocable. · An action as opposed to a trait or thing. · A named command that performs a specific operation on an object.

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

From Middle English verbe, directly from Latin verbum (“word, verb”), reinforced by Old French verbe, from Proto-Indo-European *werdʰo-. Doublet of verve and word.

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

Inspect preserved source fields

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

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "root",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*werh₁-",
        "4": "*dʰeh₁-"
      },
      "expansion": ""
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "verbe"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English verbe"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la",
        "3": "verbum",
        "4": "",
        "5": "word, verb"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin verbum (“word, verb”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "fro",
        "3": "verbe"
      },
      "expansion": "Old French verbe"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*werdʰo-"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *werdʰo-"
    },
    {
      "name": "doublet",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "verve",
        "3": "word"
      },
      "expansion": "Doublet of verve and word"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "verbe",
      "verbe#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "verbum",
      "verbum#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "verbe",
      "verbe#Old_French"
    ],
    [
      "*werdʰo-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/werdʰo-"
    ],
    [
      "verve",
      "verve#English"
    ],
    [
      "word",
      "word#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "To use any word that is or was not a verb (especially a noun) as if it were a verb.",
        "Used as a placeholder for any verb."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "colloquial",
        "nonstandard",
        "transitive"
      ],
      "recordId": "0bc2bf900ff26f4a814fb2bd33c85d75e3c9c9bd2051b1a3b61ac80a922ade61",
      "rawRecordSha256": "8b34bbea7b48c0436eebed32fe5a07e1c919bbfec6bbcbd788452f627c87bfef",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 796
    },
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A word that indicates an action, event, or state of being.",
        "Any word; a vocable.",
        "An action as opposed to a trait or thing.",
        "A named command that performs a specific operation on an object."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "obsolete",
        "figuratively"
      ],
      "recordId": "d4baaa756e108667f426d7077f165351c4195b86ddf7a7a00150249cfbdf1bd3",
      "rawRecordSha256": "e807c4323875ece69164acab0be8444674df989180a3a8e4d81c7c15809e6aaa",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 795
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
noun

Reverb.

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

Clipping of reverb.

Inspect preserved source fields

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

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "clipping",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "reverb"
      },
      "expansion": "Clipping of reverb"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "reverb",
      "reverb#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "Reverb."
      ],
      "tags": [],
      "recordId": "a009e2d41d0827b1bb0f7daf90cd8ce84b1552e1c884bb6e9c2aa6e5dc9bba3f",
      "rawRecordSha256": "75a6d057b4a3f680c8e7c56bbd1c7b5465571d7bf5deee7dc352ac1a6911d0dc",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 797
    }
  ],
  "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 verb →

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-dmVyYg