Etymology
1. O.E.
weorc, worc "something done, deed, action, proceeding, business, military fortification," from P.Gmc.
*werkan (cf. O.S., O.Fris., Du.
werk, O.N.
verk, M.Du.
warc, O.H.G.
werah, Ger.
Werk, Goth.
gawaurki), from PIE base
*werg- "to work" (see urge (v.)).
"Work is less boring than amusing oneself." [Baudelaire, "Mon Coeur mis a nu," 1862]
In O.E., the noun also had the sense of "fornication."
Workhouse in the sense of "place where the poor or petty criminals are lodged" first appeared 1652.
Works "industrial place" (usually with qualifying adj.) is attested from 1581.
Work station is recorded from 1950.
2. Etymology tree
3. Proto-Indo-European *werǵ-
4. Proto-Indo-European *-yéti
5. Proto-Indo-European *wr̥ǵyéti
6. Proto-Germanic *wurkijaną
7. Proto-West Germanic *wurkijan
8. Proto-Indo-European *werǵ-
9. Proto-Indo-European *-om
10. Proto-Indo-European *wérǵom
11. Proto-Germanic *werką
12. Proto-Indo-European *-yéti
13. Proto-Germanic *-janą
14. Proto-Germanic *wirkijaną
15. Proto-West Germanic *wirkijan
16. Old English wyrċan
17. Middle English worchen
18. English work
19. From Middle English werken and worchen, from Old English wyrċan and wircan (Mercian), from Proto-Germanic *wurkijaną (“to work”), from Proto-Indo-European *wr̥ǵyéti (“to be working, to be at work”), from the root *werǵ-. Cognate with Old Frisian werka, wirka, Old Saxon wirkian, Low German warken, Dutch werken, Old High German wurken (German wirken, werken and werkeln), Old Norse yrkja and orka, (Swedish yrka and orka), Gothic 𐍅𐌰𐌿𐍂𐌺𐌾𐌰𐌽 (waurkjan). See: Proto-Germanic '
*wurkijaną', Proto-Indo-European '
*wr̥ǵyéti', Old Saxon '
wirkian', Low Saxon 'warken', Dutch '
werken', German, old spelling '
wirken', Swedish '
yrka'.
Verbs referencing "work"
Tok Pisin wok, Norwegian, nynorsk
verka, Welsh
gwneud, Latin
organizo, Dari
ورزیدن, Low Saxon warken, Luxembourgish
wierken, Sranan
wroko, Cimbrian börchan, Finnish with old forms
wörkkiä.