Advertisement

Origin and history of wanton

wanton(adj.)

early 14c., wantoun, wan-towen, "resistant to control; willful," from archaic privative word-forming element wan- "wanting, lacking, deficient" (see wan-) + Middle English towen, from Old English togen, past participle of teon "to train, discipline;" literally "to pull, draw," from Proto-Germanic *teuhan (source also of Old High German ziohan "to pull," from Proto-Germanic *teuhan; see tug (v.)).

The basic notion perhaps is "ill-bred, poorly brought up;" compare German ungezogen "ill-bred, rude, naughty," literally "unpulled." Especially of sexual indulgence from late 14c. The meaning "inhumane, merciless" is from 1510s. It is the sole modern survival of wan-. Related: Wantonly; wantonness; wantonship.

As Flies to wanton Boyes are we to th' Gods, They kill vs for their sport. [Shakespeare, "Lear," 1605]

wanton(n.)

"one who is ill-behaved," early 14c., from wanton (adj.). Later especially "a pampered, petted creature; frolicsome, sportive creature" [Century Dictionary], 1520s, sometimes a term of endearment, and "lascivious, lewd person" (1530s). Related: Wantonize.

wanton(v.)

"to revel, frolic unrestrainedly, sport amorously," 1580s, from wanton (adj.). Related: Wantoned; wantoning.

also from 1580s

Entries linking to wanton

tug(v.)

c. 1200, tuggen, from weak grade of Old English teohan "to pull, handle roughly, drag," from Proto-Germanic *teuhan "to pull" (source also of Old High German zucchen "to pull, jerk," German zücken "to draw quickly), from PIE root *deuk- "to lead." Related to tow (v.). Related: Tugged; tugging.

wan-

word-forming element of Germanic origin, frequent in Old English, still common in Middle English, still present in 18c. glossaries of Scottish and Northern English, now archaic except for wanton. Its force is negative and privative: "wanting, lacking, deficient," also "wrongly, badly; mistaken." It was used interchangeably with un- (1).

It is cognate with German wahn-, Dutch wan- (as in wanbestuur "misgovernment," wanluid "discordant sound"), Swedish and Danish van-, from Proto-Germanic *wano- "lacking" (see wane (v.); also compare wan (adj.)).

*eue-

*euə-, Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to leave, abandon, give out," with derivatives meaning "abandoned, lacking, empty."

It might form all or part of: avoid; devastation; devoid; evacuate; evanescent; vacant; vacate; vacation; vacuity; vacuole; vacuous; vacuum; vain; vanish; vanity; vaunt; void; wane; want; wanton; waste.

It might also be the source of: Sanskrit una- "deficient;" Avestan va- "lack," Persian vang "empty, poor;" Armenian unain "empty;" Latin vacare "to be empty," vastus "empty, waste," vanus "empty, void," figuratively "idle, fruitless;" Old English wanian "to lessen," wan "deficient;" Old Norse vanta "to lack."

    Advertisement

    More to explore

    easy
    c. 1200, "at ease, having ease, free from bodily discomfort and anxiety," from Old French aisie "comfortable, at ease, rich, well-off" (Modern French aisé), past participle of aisier "to put at ease," from aise (see ease (n.)). Sense of "not difficult, requiring no great labor or
    light
    "brightness, radiant energy, that which makes things visible," Old English leht (Anglian), leoht (West Saxon), "light, daylight; spiritual illumination," from Proto-Germanic *leukhtam (source also of Old Saxon lioht, Old Frisian liacht, Middle Dutch lucht, Dutch licht, Old High G
    ribald
    This is from Old French ribaut, ribalt "rogue, scoundrel, lewd lover," also as an adjective, "wanton, depraved, dissolute..., licentious," a word of uncertain origin, perhaps (with suffix -ald) from riber "be wanton, sleep around, dally amorously...," from a Germanic source (compare Old High German riban "be wanton," literally "to rub," possibly from the common euphemistic...
    lascivious
    Latin lascivia "lewdness, playfulness, fun, frolicsomeness, jolity," from lascivus "lewd, playful, undesigned, frolicsome, wanton...This is from PIE *las-ko-, from the root *las- "to be eager, wanton, or unruly" (source also of Sanskrit -lasati "yearns,...
    lust
    lust, German Lust, Old Norse lyst, Gothic lustus "pleasure, desire, lust"), abstract noun from PIE *las- "to be eager, wanton..., or unruly" (source also of Latin lascivus "wanton, playful, lustful;" see lascivious)....
    riot
    following of a wrong scent by hounds" (a sense now obsolete but in one phrase); early 14c., "debauchery, extravagance, wanton...The meaning "civil disorder, violent disturbance of the peace, public disturbance arising from wanton and disorderly conduct...
    list
    lusten, German lüsten, Old Norse lysta "desire, wish, have a fancy"), from *lustuz-, from PIE root *las- "to be eager, wanton...
    filter
    early 15c., "piece of felt through which liquid is strained," from Old French feutre "felt, felt hat, carpet" (Modern French filtre) and directly from Medieval Latin filtrum "felt" (used to strain impurities from liquid), from West Germanic *filtiz (from PIE root *pel- (5) "to th
    squander
    1580s (squandering, Nashe), "to spend recklessly or prodigiously, use without judgment or economy," of unknown origin; Shakespeare used it in "Merchant of Venice" (1593) with a sense of "to be scattered over a wide area." Related: Squandered; squanderer. Squander-bug, a British s
    prod
    1530s, "to poke with a stick," of uncertain origin; possibly [Barnhart, Century Dictionary] a variant of brod, from Middle English brodden "to goad," from Old Norse broddr "shaft, spike" (see brad), or perhaps imitative [OED]. Compare dialectal prog "pointed instrument for poking

    Share wanton

    Advertisement
    Trending
    Dictionary entries near wanton
    Advertisement