vermouth (English)
Where does "vermouth" come from?
The word vermouth comes to us via French from the German word Wermut, which names the herb wormwood. Its ancient roots trace back to Proto-West Germanic, where the term likely combined words for 'defense' and 'mind,' perhaps reflecting the plant's traditional use as a botanical remedy. Interestingly, vermouth is a linguistic doublet of wormwood, meaning both words share the same ultimate origin despite their modern differences in spelling and application.
Full etymology tree
- vermouth (English), 'A dry, or sweet apéritif wine flavored with aromatic herbs, and often used in mixed drinks.'
- borrowed vermout (French), 'alternative spelling of vermouth'
- borrowed Wermut (German), 'wormwood (herb)'
- inherited wërmuote (Middle High German)
- inherited werimuota (Old High German)
- inherited *warjamōdā (Proto-West Germanic), 'wormwood'
- compound *warjan (Proto-West Germanic), 'to ward off, to defend against'
- inherited *warjaną (Proto-Germanic), 'to ward off, to defend against'
- derived *wer- (Proto-Indo-European), 'to burn'
- inherited *warjaną (Proto-Germanic), 'to ward off, to defend against'
- compound *mōd (Proto-West Germanic), 'mind, sense'
- inherited *mōdaz (Proto-Germanic), 'mind, sense'
- derived *mō-tó-s (Proto-Indo-European)
- derived *meh₁- (Proto-Indo-European), 'to measure'
- influence *med- (Proto-Indo-European), 'to measure'
- derived *meh₁- (Proto-Indo-European), 'to measure'
- derived *mō-tó-s (Proto-Indo-European)
- inherited *mōdaz (Proto-Germanic), 'mind, sense'
- compound *warjan (Proto-West Germanic), 'to ward off, to defend against'
- inherited *warjamōdā (Proto-West Germanic), 'wormwood'
- inherited werimuota (Old High German)
- inherited wërmuote (Middle High German)
- borrowed Wermut (German), 'wormwood (herb)'
- borrowed vermout (French), 'alternative spelling of vermouth'
Direct ancestors
Updated July 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris