werḱ-
“to work, to do, to make”work, labor
PIE root meaning to work, do, or make. Source of English "work," Greek érgon, German Werk, and words for labor.
Discussion
The root *werḱ- ("to work, to do, to make") is reconstructed in Pokorny (IEW 1168–1169) and LIV². The palatal *ḱ is debated in some treatments, but the broad distribution of the root across branches is secure.
Greek érgon (ἔργον, "work, deed, action") is the primary reflex, from *wérǵ-om with loss of initial *w before *e in Greek. The combining form -ourgós (from *-wṛǵ-ó-) appears in numerous compounds: dēmiourgós ("craftsman, creator," literally "worker for the people"), giving English demiurge; lithourgós ("stoneworker"), giving liturgy (via leitourgía, "public service"); metallourgós, giving metallurgy; and chorourgós, giving surgery (via kheirourgía, "hand-work"). The prefix en- gives énergia (ἐνέργεια, "activity, energy"), one of the most consequential scientific terms in modern languages. Organ (from órganon, "tool, instrument") belongs to the same family.
In Germanic, Grimm's Law gives *werḱ- > *werk-: Old English weorc ("work, labour, deed"), whence Modern English work. Old High German werc, Old Norse verk, and Gothic waúrkjan ("to work") are cognates. The English wrought is the old past participle of work (wyrcan).
Armenian gorc ("work, deed") preserves the root with regular *w > g (in some analyses) and loss of the initial laryngeal.
Avestan vərəzyeiti ("works, performs") and the nominal vərəz- confirm the Indo-Iranian branch. The Greek-Germanic-Iranian triple correspondence érgon/work/vərəz- is a standard teaching example in comparative philology.
The root displays e/zero ablaut (*werḱ-/*wr̥ḱ-) and its semantic range—work, action, creation—is stable across all attesting branches.
Notes
Source of English "work", Greek "érgon". Zero-grade *wr̥ḱ-.