wegʰ-eyo-

to keep carrying, conveying
Widely acceptedmovementtransport

vehicle, convex, invective, vector

Iterative of *wegʰ- giving Latin vehere, English vehicle, convex, invective, vector.‌​‍​‌​‍​‍​‍​‍​‍​‍​‌​‌​‍​‌​‍​‌​‍​‌​‌​‍​‌​‍​‍​‍​‌​‌​‌​‍​‌​‌​‍​‍​‍

Discussion

The PIE iterative form *wegʰ-eyo- (to keep carrying, to convey repeatedly) derives from *weǵʰ- (to c‌​‍​‌​‍​‍​‍​‍​‍​‍​‌​‌​‍​‌​‍​‌​‍​‌​‌​‍​‌​‍​‍​‍​‌​‌​‌​‍​‌​‌​‍​‍​‍arry, to transport, to move by vehicle), one of the most important motion/transport roots in the reconstructed vocabulary.

Latin vehere (to carry, to transport) continues the root and gave English: vehicle (that which carries), vector (one who carries — in mathematics, a quantity with direction; in biology, an organism that carries a pathogen), convex (con-vexus, "carried together" — curving outward), invective (in-vectīvus, "carried against" — a verbal attack), and vex (vexāre, "to shake by carrying" — to agitate, to annoy).

The English word way (OE weg, from PGmc *wegaz, from PIE *weǵʰ-) continues the root natively — a way is a path for carrying/conveying. German Weg (way, path) and the combining form -weg confirm the Germanic distribution. The word weigh (OE wegan, "to carry, to bear weight" — then to measure weight) descends from the same root: weighing is carrying and assessing the load.

The word wagon (from Dutch wagen, from PGmc *wagnaz) is a derivative — the wagon is the carrying-vehicle par excellence.

Sanskrit váhati ("he carries, he drives") confirms the Indo-Iranian reflex. The Vedic term for a draught animal (váhana-) is literally "the carrier."

The root connects to *kʷekʷlo- (wheel) and *h₂eḱs- (axle) as part of the PIE transport vocabulary: *weǵʰ- names the act of carrying, *kʷekʷlo- names the rotating component, and *h₂eḱs- names the axle.

Last updated: 11 April 2026 · Generated by opus-4.6