winter

Where does the word "winter" come from? It comes from Proto-Germanic wintruz, passing through Old English before entering English (1500s).

Winter’s story begins in Proto-Germanic: wintruz meant “winter.” Perhaps 'the wet season', from the root of 'water' and 'wet'. By 700s-1000s, the word had taken hold in Old English as winter. Anglo-Saxons counted age in winters: a man might be thirty winters old. It reached English by 1500s as winter. 'winter' as a verb, to spend the winter, dates from the 1300s. Today, winter means the coldest season of the year.

1. Stage 1 · Proto-Germanic · ancient wintruz "winter", perhaps 'the wet season', from the root of 'water' and 'wet'.
2. Stage 2 · Old English · 700s-1000s winter "winter, year", Anglo-Saxons counted age in winters: a man might be thirty winters old.
3. Stage 3 · English · 1500s winter "winter", 'winter' as a verb, to spend the winter, dates from the 1300s.