water
A transparent, odourless liquid essential for life.
Etymology
From Old English wæter, from Proto-Germanic *watōr, from PIE *wódr̥ (genitive *wedéns). The root also gives us "wet," "wash," "winter" (the wet season), and through Latin and Greek: "vodka," "hydro-," "otter" (water animal), and "whiskey" (from Irish uisce beatha, "water of life").
The Journey: *wódr̥ → water
*wódr̥
*watōr
wæter
water
water
Cognates Across Languages
These words in other languages descend from the same PIE root *wódr̥. They are not borrowings but independent inheritances from a common ancestor.
| Language | Word |
|---|---|
| Greek | hýdōr |
| Latin | unda (wave) |
| Hittite | wātar |
| Russian | voda |
| Sanskrit | udán |
| Lithuanian | vanduo |
Did You Know?
Whiskey comes from Irish uisce beatha meaning "water of life" — and uisce descends from the same PIE root *wódr̥ as English water. Vodka is the Russian diminutive of voda (water), also from the same root.
This word descends from the Proto-Indo-European root *wódr̥. See the full root page for descendant trees, sound law references, and scholarly discussion.