Etymology: Common Germanic: Old English wer = Old Frisian, Old Saxon, Old High German wer, Old Norse and Icelandic verr, Gothic wair = Latin vir, Old Irish fer (Gaelic fear), Welsh gŵr, related to Lithuanian vyras, Sanskrit vīrá, man, hero.

Etymology: Old English were, variant of wer (dative were), abbreviation of were-, wergild.

Etymology: Of doubtful origin, but possibly the same word as northern Middle English and Scots were , variant of Middle English werre war n.¹, retaining the original sense of ‘confusion’, ‘perplexity’, which is prominent in Old High German werra, etc. The form agrees with north-eastern Old French were (also weire, wiere, wyere), which is the immediate source of Middle English and Scots were ‘war’. In R. Brunne Chron. Wace (Rolls) 2126 and Rom. Rose 5699 the use of were is suggested by guere and guerre in the French originals. Although employed by some midland and southern writers, the word is chiefly characteristic of northern texts and latterly confined to Scottish use. Except in senses 5b, 6, 7, it most frequently occurs in the phrase in (a) were.

Etymology: < were v.

Etymology: Common Germanic: Old English werian, wergan = Old Saxon werian, werean (Middle Low German and Low German weren), Old Frisian wera (West Frisian weare, warre; North Frisian weeri, wiare), Middle Dutch and Dutch weren, Old High German warian, werian, etc. (Middle High German wergen, weren, wern, German wehren), Old Norse and Icelandic verja (Norwegian verja; Swedish värja, Danish værge, verge), Gothic warjan. The extent to which the two senses of preventing or checking, and defending or protecting, are represented, varies in the different languages; the greater currency of the second in English, though already prominent in Old English, may have been assisted by the agreement with Old Norse verja.