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Origin and history of wen

wen(n.)

"benign lump or excrescence on the body or head," 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), according to Watkins from PIE *wen- (2) "to beat, wound" (see wound (n.)).

Entries linking to wen

wound(n.)

Old English wund "injury to a person or animal involving piercing or cutting of the tissue of the body;" in pathology also "ulcer, scar," from Proto-Germanic *wuntho (source also of Old Saxon wunda, Old Norse und, Old Frisian wunde, Old High German wunta, German wunde "wound"), perhaps (Watkins) from PIE root *wen- (2) "to beat, wound."

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