"a word that asserts or declares; that part of speech of which the office is predication, and which, either alone or with various modifiers or adjuncts, combines with a subject to make a sentence" [Century Dictionary], late 14c., from Old French verbe "word; word of God; saying; part of speech that expresses action or being" (12c.) and directly from Latin verbum "verb," originally "a word," from PIE root *were- (3) "to speak" (source also of Avestan urvata- "command;" Sanskrit vrata- "command, vow;" Greek rhētōr "public speaker," rhetra "agreement, covenant," eirein "to speak, say;" Hittite weriga- "call, summon;" Lithuanian vardas "name;" Gothic waurd, Old English word "word").

c. 1600, "to repeat, put in words again," from re- "back, again" + word (v.) "put in words." The meaning "express in other words" is by 1882. Related: Reworded; rewording.

as the name of a game in which clues suggests words that are written in overlapping horizontal and vertical boxes in a grid, January 1914, from cross (adj.) + word (n.). The first one ran in the "New York World" newspaper Dec. 21, 1913, but was called word-cross. As a noun, 1925, short for crossword puzzle.