werþan

Werþan is a term used in historical linguistics to denote a Proto-Germanic verb meaning “to become” or “to come into being.” It is typically reconstructed as *werþaną and is considered the ancestor of related verbs in the main Germanic languages. In Old English, the cognate forms are represented by spellings such as weorþan or werþan, and the verb is understood to have expressed a transition into a new state, roughly aligning with the modern sense of “to become.”

Etymology and cognates are central to the entry. The proposed Proto-Germanic form is linked to a family of verbs that produce modern descendants in several languages: Old Norse verða (to become), Dutch worden, and German werden. This lineage situates werþan within a broad semantic field tied to change of state, rather than mere existence. The sense “to become worthy” is also historically connected to the related noun and adjective forms dealing with value or worth.

Attestation of werþan as a standalone Old English lemma is limited; scholars usually infer its existence from etymological patterns and from the appearance of related forms in the Old English repertoire. In Old English texts, the verb, when present, would appear in various inflected forms appropriate to tense and mood and would participate in constructions that express transition or coming into a new state. Because direct stress on the headword is sparse, much of the understanding rests on comparative Germanic evidence rather than extensive direct quotations.

Derivatives and reflexes across languages reflect the core idea of becoming and, in some descendants, notions of worth. See also weorþ, worth, werden, verða.