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Origin and history of wend

wend(v.)

"to take one's course or way, proceed, go," Old English wendan "to turn, make a turn; direct, go; convert, translate," from Proto-Germanic *wanda- (source also of Old Saxon wendian, Old Norse venda, Swedish vända, Old Frisian wenda, Dutch wenden, German wenden, Gothic wandjan "to turn"), causative of PIE *wendh- "to turn, wind, weave" (see wind (v.1)).

It survives in wend one's way (early 14c.) and in hijacked past tense form went. It is related to wander. Very common in Middle English, which also had awend, biwend, miswend, overwend, etc. A wendling was a "vagabond."

Wend(n.)

member of a Slavic people of eastern Germany, 1610s (implied in Wendish), from German Wende, from Old High German Winida, related to Old English Winedas "Wends," a name of uncertain origin. Perhaps ultimately from Celtic *vindo- "white," or from PIE *wen-eto- "beloved," from root *wen- (1) "to desire, strive for." For the Slavic name see Sorb. Related: Wendish; Wendic.

also from 1610s

Entries linking to wend

Sorb(n.)

1843, from German Sorbe, from Slavic Serb, the national designation. A Slavic people surviving amid the Germans in Lusatia, eastern Saxony, also known as Wends (see Wend (n.)). Related: Sorbish; Sorbian (1836); earlier Sorabian (1788), from Medieval Latin Sorabi.

wander(v.)

Middle English wandren, "ramble without a certain course or purpose," from Old English wandrian "move about aimlessly, wander," from West Germanic *wundrōjanan "roam about" (source also of Old Frisian wondria, Middle Low German, Middle Dutch wanderen, German wandern "to wander," a variant form of the verb represented in Old High German wantalon "walk, wander"), from PIE root *wendh- "to turn, wind, weave" (see wind (v.1)). With Germanic verbal suffix indicating repeated or diminutive action (see -er (4)).

As "go astray, depart from a settled course," c. 1500. In reference to the mind, c. 1400, "be delirious, rave," on notion of "move uncontrolled." Of the eyes, 1570s as "to rove, turn this way and that." Related: Wandered; wandering.

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Trends of wend

adapted from books.google.com/ngrams/ with a 7-year moving average; ngrams are probably unreliable.

More to explore

wind
"air in motion," Old English wind "wind," from Proto-Germanic *winda- (source also of Old Saxon, Old Frisian, Middle Dutch, Dutch wind, Old Norse vindr, Old High German wind, German Wind, Gothic winds), from PIE *wē-nt-o‑ "blowing," suffixed (participial) form of root *we- "to bl
go
Old English gan "to advance, walk; depart, go away; happen, take place; conquer; observe, practice, exercise," from West Germanic *gaian (source also of Old Saxon, Old Frisian gan, Middle Dutch gaen, Dutch gaan, Old High German gan, German gehen), from PIE root *ghē- "to release,
translate
early 14c., "to remove from one place to another," also "to turn from one language to another," from Old French translater and directly from Latin translatus "carried over," serving as past participle of transferre "to bring over, carry over" (see transfer), from trans "across, b
ventral
belly or stomach," from Latin venter (genitive ventris) "belly, paunch; stomach, appetite; womb, unborn child," from PIE *wend-tri...
wand
1200, from Old Norse vondr "rod, switch" (cognate with Gothic wandus "rod," Middle Swedish vander), from Proto-Germanic *wend...
winter
winter, Danish and Swedish vinter, Gothic wintrus, Old Norse vetr "winter"), probably literally "the wet season," from PIE *wend...
grim
A Middle English expression for "have recourse to harsh measures" was to wend the grim tooth (early 13c.)....
travel
late 14c., "to journey," from travailen (1300) "to make a journey," originally "to toil, labor" (see travail). The semantic development may have been via the notion of "go on a difficult journey," but it also may reflect the difficulty of any journey in the Middle Ages. Replaced
move
late 13c., meven, in various senses (see below), from Anglo-French mover, Old French movoir "to move, get moving, set out; set in motion; introduce" (Modern French mouvoir), from Latin movere "move, set in motion; remove; disturb" (past participle motus, frequentative motare), fr
try
c. 1300, "examine judiciously, discover by evaluation, test;" mid-14c., "sit in judgment of," also "attempt to do," from Anglo-French trier (13c.), from Old French trier "to pick out, cull" (12c.), from Gallo-Roman *triare, of unknown origin. The ground sense is "separate out (th

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