wool (English)
Where does "wool" come from?
The English word 'wool' traces its ancestry through Middle English 'wolle' and Old English 'wull'[1]. These forms descend from Proto-West Germanic '*wullu' and Proto-Germanic '*wullō'[1], which ultimately derive from the Proto-Indo-European root '*h₂wĺ̥h₁neh₂'[1], meaning 'wool'[5]. This ancient term is built from the root '*h₂welh₁-' meaning 'hair or wool'[3]. The spelling shift in Modern English from 'woll' to 'wool' was a graphical change to better represent the pronunciation and avoid the letter combination 'wu'[1].
Open questions
- The Proto-Indo-European root is often compared to terms meaning to pluck or to turn, though its verbal function is supported by Armenian formations. [6]
Full etymology tree
- wool (English), 'The hair of the sheep, llama and some other ruminants.'
- inherited wolle (Middle English), 'wool (coat of sheep), especially when used to make fabric'
- inherited wull (Old English), 'wool'
- inherited *wullu (Proto-West Germanic), 'wool'
- inherited *wullō (Proto-Germanic), 'wool'
- inherited *h₂wĺ̥h₁neh₂ (Proto-Indo-European), 'wool'
- derived *h₂welh₁- (Proto-Indo-European), 'hair; wool'
- suffix *-néh₂ (Proto-Indo-European), 'Creates deverbal nouns, often abstract'
- inherited *h₂wĺ̥h₁neh₂ (Proto-Indo-European), 'wool'
- inherited *wullō (Proto-Germanic), 'wool'
- inherited *wullu (Proto-West Germanic), 'wool'
- inherited wull (Old English), 'wool'
- inherited wolle (Middle English), 'wool (coat of sheep), especially when used to make fabric'
Ancestors
- *h₂welh₁- (Proto-Indo-European)
- wolle (Middle English)
- wull (Old English)
- *wullu (Proto-West Germanic)
- *wullō (Proto-Germanic)
- *h₂wĺ̥h₁neh₂ (Proto-Indo-European)
Cognates and doublets
- lesh (Albanian)
- wol (Dutch)
- lana (English)
- Wolle (German)
- Wull (German Low German)
- lana (Latin)
- vilna (Lithuanian)
- волос (Russian)
- Wulle (Saterland Frisian)
- vlna (Slovak)
- gwlân (Welsh)
Descendants and derived words
- abb-wool (English)
- all cry and no wool (English)
- all wool and a yard wide (English)
- angora wool (English)
- bullswool (English)
- cony wool (English)
- cotton wool (English)
- cotton-wool (English)
- cotton-wool (English)
- cotton wool ball (English)
- cotton wool bud (English)
- darning wool (English)
Related words
Sources
- wool (English) - Wiktionary
- wull (Old English) - Wiktionary
- h₂wĺ̥h₁neh₂ (Proto-Indo-European) - Wiktionary
- wolle (Middle English) - Wiktionary
- wullō (Proto-Germanic) - Wiktionary
- h₂welh₁- (Proto-Indo-European) - Wiktionary
- wullu (Proto-West Germanic) - Wiktionary
Updated October 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris