weave
To form fabric by interlacing threads on a loom; to intertwine.
Etymology
From Old English wefan, from Proto-Germanic *webaną. This traces to PIE *h₁webʰ- meaning "to weave, to move quickly back and forth." Weaving was one of the earliest and most important technologies of Indo-European-speaking peoples, reflected in the rich vocabulary around it.
The Journey: *webʰ- → weave
*h₁webʰ-
*webaną
wefan
weave
Cognates Across Languages
These words in other languages descend from the same PIE root *webʰ-. They are not borrowings but independent inheritances from a common ancestor.
| Language | Word |
|---|---|
| Dutch | weven |
| Greek | hyphḗ (web, weaving) |
| Sanskrit | ūrṇavā́bhi- (spider, lit. wool-weaver) |
| Old Norse | vefa |
| Old High German | weban |
Did You Know?
The word "web" comes from the same root — a web is something woven. "Webster" was an Old English word for a female weaver (-ster was originally a feminine suffix). The World Wide Web metaphor compares interconnected pages to woven fabric.
This word descends from the Proto-Indo-European root *webʰ-. See the full root page for descendant trees, sound law references, and scholarly discussion.