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Origin and history of wound

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."

wound(v.)

"hurt by violence," Middle English wounden, from Old English wundian "inflict a piercing injury on," from the source of wound (n.). The figurative use is attested by c. 1200, in reference to the earth cut by a plow; by late 14c. in reference to emotional pain or hurt feelings.

Germanic cognate include Old Frisian wundia, Middle Dutch and Dutch wonden, Old High German wunton, German verwunden, Gothic gawundon. Related: Wounded; wounding; woundable.

wound(adj.)

"having been subject to winding," late 14c., past-participle adjective from wind (v.1). Old English had wounden (adj.). Wound-up (adj.) "that has been fully wound" in any sense is by 1788.

also from late 14c.

Entries linking to wound

wind(v.1)

"move by turning and twisting," Middle English winden, from Old English windan "to turn, twist, plait, curl, brandish, swing" (class III strong verb; past tense wand, past participle wunden), from Proto-Germanic *windan "to wind," from PIE *wendh- "to turn, wind, weave" (source also of Latin viere "twist, plait, weave," vincire "bind;" Lithuanian vyti "twist, wind").

The verb wend is its causative form, and it is not always clear in Middle English which is meant. Also compare wander. The past tense and past participle merged in Middle English.

The meaning "to twine, entwine oneself around" is from 1590s; the transitive sense of "turn or twist round and round (on something) is from c. 1300. The meaning "set a watch, clockwork, etc. in operating mode by tightening its spring" is from c. 1600.

To wind down "come to a conclusion" is recorded from 1952; to wind up "come to a conclusion" is recorded from 1825; it was used earlier in a transitive sense of "put (affairs) in order in advance of a final settlement" (1780).

Of a corpse, "to enshroud" (c. 1300), hence winding sheet (n.), attested from early 15c.

Germanic cognates include Old Saxon windan, Old Norse vinda, Old Frisian winda, Dutch winden, Old High German wintan, German winden, Gothic windan "to wind."

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.)).

wounder(n.)

c. 1400, "one who inflicts wounds," agent noun from wound (v.).

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    hurt
    c. 1200, "to injure, wound" (the body, feelings, reputation, etc.), also "to stumble (into), bump into; charge against, rush, crash into; knock (things) together," from Old French hurter "to ram, strike, collide with" (Modern French heurter), a word of uncertain origin. Perhaps f
    bruise
    Old English brysan "to crush, pound, injure by a blow which discolors the skin," from Proto-Germanic *brusjan, from PIE root *bhreu- "to smash, cut, break up" (source also of Old Irish bronnaim "I wrong, I hurt;" Breton brezel "war," Vulgar Latin *brisare "to break"). It merged b
    offend
    early 14c., offenden, "to disobey or sin against (a person, human or divine)," a sense now obsolete, from Old French ofendre "hit, attack, injure; sin against; antagonize, excite to anger" and directly from Latin offendere "to hit, thrust, or strike against," figuratively "to stu
    bane
    murderer, a worker of death" (human, animal, or object), also "the devil," from Proto-Germanic *banon, cognate with *banja- "wound...murderer," Old Norse bani "death; that which causes death," Old High German bana "death, destruction," Old English benn "wound...," Gothic banja "stroke, wound"), a word of no certain IE etymology....
    scar
    [mark on skin resulting from a wound or hurt] late 14c., scarre, "trace left on skin by a healed wound, burn, etc.," from...Old English glossed Latin cicatrix with dolhswað, from dolh "wound" + swað "track, trace."...
    sore
    Middle English sore, from Old English sar "bodily pain or injury, wound; sickness, disease; state of pain or suffering,"...Compare Old Saxon ser "pain, wound," Middle Dutch seer, Dutch zeer, Old High German ser, Old Norse sar, Gothic sair....
    Valhalla
    wæl "slaughter, bodies of the slain," Old High German wal "battlefield, slaughter"), from PIE root *wele- (2) "to strike, wound...source also of Avestan vareta- "seized, prisoner," Latin veles "ghosts of the dead," Old Irish fuil "blood," Welsh gwel "wound...
    interlace
    formerly also enterlace, late 14c. (trans.), "unite by crossing the laces," thus, "entangle, bind together," from Old French entrelacier (12c.), from entre- (see entre-) "between" + lacier "to tie, entangle," from laz (see lace (n.)). Intransitive sense from 1590s. Television sen
    chagrin
    1650s, "melancholy," from French chagrin "melancholy, anxiety, vexation" (14c.), from Old North French chagreiner or Angevin dialect chagraigner "sadden," which is of unknown origin, perhaps [Gamillscheg] from Old French graignier "grieve over, be angry," from graigne "sadness, r
    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

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