Wake — From Old English to English | etymologist.ai
wake
/weɪk/·verb·before 900 CE·Established
Origin
From OldEnglish 'wacan' (to arise) and 'wacian' (to keep watch), from Proto-Germanic *wakaną and PIE *weǵ- meaning 'to be strong or lively.'
Definition
To cease sleeping; to become roused from sleep, or to rouse another from sleep.
The Full Story
Old Englishbefore 900 CEwell-attested
From OldEnglish 'wacan' (strong verb: to become awake, to arise, to come into being) and the causative 'wacian' (to be awake, to keep watch, to be vigilant), both from Proto-Germanic *wakaną (to be awake, to watch). ThePIEroot is *weǵ- (to be strong, lively, active, awake). The two Old English verbs eventually merged in Middle English, producing the modern form 'wake' with both
Did you know?
The funeral 'wake' — sitting with a dead body overnight — comes from the same word: it originally meant a 'watching' or 'vigil,' and the mourners literally stayed awake through the night to guard the deceased.
. The 'wake' of a ship (the track left in water) is a different word entirely, from Old Norse 'vǫk' (a hole in ice, a channel), unrelated etymologically though identical in modern form. Key roots: *wakaną (Proto-Germanic: "to be awake, to arise"), *weǵ- (Proto-Indo-European: "to be strong, lively, active").