English

very

/ˈvɛɹi/
To a great extent or degree.

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    Origin

    From Middle English verray, from Old French verai (“true”), from Early Medieval Latin vērāgus, from Classical Latin vērāx, derived from vērus, from Proto-Italic *wēros, from Proto-Indo-European *weh₁ros.

    Distantly cognate with Old English wǣr (“true”). Over time displaced the use of a number of Germanic words or prefixes to convey the sense 'very' such as fele, full-, mæġen, sore, sin-, swīþe, (partially) wel.

    From Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.

    Lineage

    • rootProto-Indo-European*weh₁- “true”
    • inheritedMiddle Englishverray
      • derivedOld Frenchverai “true”
        • derivedEarly Medieval Latinvērāgus
          • derivedClassical Latinvērāx
            • derivedProto-Italic*wēros
              • derivedProto-Indo-European*weh₁ros

    Related: Old English wǣr

    Words built on it: very-light, very light

    Sources