wool (English)
Where does "wool" come from?
The word 'wool' traces its roots back to the ancient Proto-Indo-European term *h₂wĺ̥h₁neh₂. It evolved through Proto-Germanic and Old English as 'wull' before settling into the Middle English 'wolle'. The modern spelling eventually shifted to 'wool' to better reflect how the word was pronounced as English spelling habits favored the 'oo' combination over 'wu'.
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'
- compound *h₂welh₁- (Proto-Indo-European), 'to rule'
- compound *-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'
Direct ancestors
- h₂welh₁- (Proto-Indo-European)
- wolle (Middle English)
- wull (Old English)
- wullu (Proto-West Germanic)
- wullō (Proto-Germanic)
- h₂wĺ̥h₁neh₂ (Proto-Indo-European)
- Wulle (Saterland Frisian)
- Wull (German Low German)
Updated July 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris