world

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

World’s story begins in Proto-Germanic: weraldiz meant “age of man.” From 'wera-', man, plus 'aldi-', age: literally 'the age of man'. By 700s-1000s, the word had taken hold in Old English as weorold. Meant human existence and this earthly life, as opposed to the afterlife. It reached English by 1500s as world. 'the New World' for the Americas dates from the 1550s. Today, world means the Earth and all the people and things on it.

1. Stage 1 · Proto-Germanic · ancient weraldiz "age of man", from 'wera-', man, plus 'aldi-', age: literally 'the age of man'.
2. Stage 2 · Old English · 700s-1000s weorold "human life, the world", meant human existence and this earthly life, as opposed to the afterlife.
3. Stage 3 · English · 1500s world "the world", 'the New World' for the Americas dates from the 1550s.