wound | Search Online Etymology Dictionary

81 entries found.

Old English wund "hurt, injury, ulcer," from Proto-Germanic *wuntho (source also of Old Saxon wunda, Old Norse und, Old Frisian wunde, Old High German wunta, German wunde "wound"), perhaps from PIE root *wen- (2) "to beat, wound."

wound (v.)

Old English wundian "to wound," from the source of wound (n.). Cognate with Old Frisian wundia, Middle Dutch and Dutch wonden, Old High German wunton, German verwunden, Gothic gawundon. Figurative use, of feelings, etc., from c. 1200. Related: Wounded; wounding.

wounder (n.)

late 15c., agent noun from wound (v.).

wen (n.)

Old English wenn "a wen, tumor, wart," from Proto-Germanic *wanja- "a swelling" (source also of Middle Low German wene, Dutch wen, dialectal German Wenne), from PIE *wen- (2) "to beat, wound" (see wound (n.)).

vulnerable (adj.)

c. 1600, from Late Latin vulnerabilis "wounding," from Latin vulnerare "to wound, hurt, injure, maim," from vulnus (genitive vulneris) "wound," perhaps related to vellere "pluck, to tear" (see svelte), or from PIE *wele-nes-, from *wele- (2) "to strike, wound" (see Valhalla).

astrobleme (n.)

"crypto-explosion structure on Earth caused by meteorite or asteroid impact," 1961, literally "star-wound," from astro- "star" + Greek bleme "throw of a missile; wound caused by a missile," from ballein "to throw" (from PIE root *gwele- "to throw, reach"). Coined by U.S. geologist Robert S. Dietz.

trauma (n.)

1690s, "physical wound," medical Latin, from Greek trauma "a wound, a hurt; a defeat," from PIE *trau-, extended form of root *tere- (1) "to rub, turn," with derivatives referring to twisting, piercing, etc. Sense of "psychic wound, unpleasant experience which causes abnormal stress" is from 1894.

ulcer (n.)

c. 1400, from Old French ulcere, from Vulgar Latin *ulcerem, from Latin ulcus (genitive ulceris) "ulcer, a sore," figuratively "painful subject," from PIE *elk-es- "wound" (source also of Greek elkos "a wound, sore, ulcer," Sanskrit Related: arsah "hemorrhoids").

traumatic (adj.)

1650s, from French traumatique and directly from Late Latin traumaticus, from Greek traumatikos "pertaining to a wound," from trauma (genitive traumatos; see trauma). Psychological sense is from 1889. Related: Traumatically.

coil (n.)

1620s, "length of rope or cable," a specialized nautical sense from coil (v.). General sense "ring or series of rings in which a pliant body is wound" is from 1660s; hence, such a form forced onto a non-pliant body (1826). Specific sense "electrical conductor wound in a coil" is from 1849. Related: Coils.

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