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35,981 English word records · 45,491 etymology sections in this online subset
PARTIAL ENGLISH COVERAGE · FULL CORPUS REMAINS LOCAL2 source sections across 1 headword matching “Answer”. These are separate from the reviewed results below.
answerEnglish (en) · Etymology 1Source text
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂ent- Proto-Indo-European *-s Proto-Indo-European *h₂éntsder. Proto-Germanic *anda- Proto-Indo-European *swer-der. Proto-Germanic *swarō Proto-Germanic *andaswarō Proto-West Germanic *andaswaru Old English andswaru Middle English answere English answer From Middle English answere, andsware, from Old English andswaru (“answer”), from and- (“against”) + swaru (“affirmation”), (from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ent- (“front, forehead”) and Old English swerian (“to swear”), from Proto-Indo-European *swer-), suggesting an original meaning of "a sworn statement rebutting a charge". The cognates suggest the existence of Proto-Germanic *andaswarō (“a reply to a question”). Cognate with Old Frisian ondser (“answer”), Old Saxon andswōr (“answer”), Danish and Swedish ansvar (“liability, responsibility, answer”), Icelandic andsvar (“answer, response”). Compare also Old English andwyrde (“answer”) (cognate to Dutch antwoord, German Antwort), Old English andcwiss (“reply”), German Schwur (“oath, vow”).
Original Wiktionary entry and references ↗answerEnglish (en) · Etymology 2Source text
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂ent- Proto-Indo-European *-s Proto-Indo-European *h₂éntsder. Proto-Germanic *anda- Proto-Indo-European *swer-der. Proto-Germanic *swarjaną Proto-Germanic *andaswarjaną Old English andswerian Middle English answeren English answer From Middle English answeren, andswaren, answerien, from Old English andswarian, answarien (“to answer, to respond, to deny an allegation under oath”), from Proto-Germanic *andaswarōną, *andaswarjaną (“to answer, to give a response, to rebut”), from *anda- (“against”) + *swarjaną, *swarōną (“to swear an oath, to answer, to respond”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ent- (“face, forehead”) and *swer- (“to swear”). Cognate with Old Frisian ondswera (“to answer”), Danish ansvare (“to answer, account for”), Swedish ansvara (“to answer, account for”), Icelandic andsvara (“to answer, reply”).
Original Wiktionary entry and references ↗INDEPENDENT SOURCE LIBRARY
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MODERN ENTRY POINTS
WORD DOSSIERS
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ATTESTED / RECONSTRUCTED / BOUNDARY
HISTORICAL FORMS
No reviewed record in this collection contains “answer.” Absence describes this graph, not all of linguistic scholarship.
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WHERE INTERPRETATION IS TESTED
CLAIMS & DISPUTES
SCHOLARLY DISPUTES / 2
openprobableposition text
Does sem frændr en eigi sem fiandr prove the ordinary friend sense?
ONP files the phrase under friend but flags possible kin sense 3; Cleasby–Vigfússon treats it as a possible alliterative exception. The citation does not force one clean answer.
openprobableposition text
Are hatjan and hatan two Gothic verbs or one fluctuating paradigm?
The located scholarship does not collapse to one answer. Project Wulfila gives separate class-I and class-III lemmas; Orel publishes distinct Germanic formations. Braune says hatan fluctuates between class III and class I, and Wright lists both under the same gloss.
CONTRARIAN TRUTHS / 2
RANK 9GRADE Acontrarian claim
The most repeated origin story is not the most rigorous answer.
Mapuche ancestry is a serious, evidenced proposal—but current RAE and a historical Spanish argument keep the deeper source genuinely open.
RANK 204GRADE A−ranked reveal
The honest root of icon ends in uncertainty.
Icon securely reaches Greek eikōn “image, likeness.” A proposed deeper comparison is doubtful, so the most revealing answer is the boundary itself.
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BOOKS / DICTIONARIES / ARTICLES / DATABASES
SOURCES
No reviewed record in this collection contains “answer.” Absence describes this graph, not all of linguistic scholarship.
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FIRST USES & HISTORICAL OBJECTS
ATTESTATION WITNESSES
No reviewed record in this collection contains “answer.” Absence describes this graph, not all of linguistic scholarship.
06
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