work
Activity involving mental or physical effort done to achieve a purpose or result.
Etymology
From Old English weorc (work, deed, action), from Proto-Germanic *werką, from PIE *h₁werg- (to do, to work). The same root gave Greek ergon (work) and organ (tool), as well as English energy (via Greek en- + ergon). Germanic preserved the w- initial that Greek lost.
The Journey: *h₁werg- → work
*h₁werg-
*werką
weorc
work
Cognates Across Languages
These words in other languages descend from the same PIE root *h₁werg-. They are not borrowings but independent inheritances from a common ancestor.
| Language | Word |
|---|---|
| Greek | ergon (ἔργον) — work, deed |
| German | Werk — work |
| Avestan | vərəz- — to work |
| Armenian | gorc — work |
Did You Know?
The same PIE root *h₁werg- also gave us energy, organ, and surgery (via Greek kheirourgia, 'hand-work') — all fundamentally about doing or making.
This word descends from the Proto-Indo-European root *h₁werg-. See the full root page for descendant trees, sound law references, and scholarly discussion.