Origin and history of wooden

Old English wudu, earlier widu "tree, trees collectively, forest, grove; the substance of which trees are made," from Proto-Germanic *widu-, from PIE *widhu- "tree, wood" (source also of Welsh gwydd "trees," Gaelic fiodh- "wood, timber," Old Irish fid "tree, wood"). Germanic cognates include Old Norse viðr, Danish and Swedish ved "tree, wood," Old High German witu "wood."

Sometimes in Old English it was used generically for "wild" as opposed to "domesticated" (wudubucca "wild goat," wudufugol "wild bird," wudurose "wild rose;" wudu-honig "wild honey;" wudu-æppel "crab-apple"), perhaps reflecting the dense forests that carpeted much of old England just beyond the cultivated areas.

As "printing wood-blocks," as distinguished from metallic types, by 1839. Used for the largest-size characters ("Japan Surrenders"), in tabloid newspapers it came to be shorthand for "lead headline."

As an adjective, "made of wood, wooden," by 1530s.

Out of the woods, figuratively "safe," is by 1792.

suffix added to nouns to produce adjectives meaning "made of, of the nature of" (such as golden, oaken, woolen), corresponding to Latin -anus, -inus, Greek -inos; from Proto-Germanic *-ina- (from PIE *-no-, adjectival suffix).

Common in Old, Middle, and early Modern English: e.g. fyren "on fire; made of fire," rosen "made or consisting of roses," hunden "of dogs, canine," beanen "of beans," wreathen "entwined," tinnen "made of tin," baken "baked," breaden "of bread," writhen "subject to twisting or turning," yewen "made of yew-wood." Wycliffe has reeden made of or consisting of reeds."

The few surviving instances are largely discarded in everyday use, and the simple form of the noun doubles as adjective (gold ring, wool sweater). Some are used in special contexts (brazen, wooden).