weg

See also: Weg, WEG, weg-, -weg, and węg.

Afrikaans

Etymology

From Dutch weg, from Middle Dutch wech, from Old Dutch weh, weg, from Proto-Germanic *wegaz, from Proto-Indo-European *weǵʰ-.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /vɛχ/
Audio (file)

Noun

weg (plural weë)

way; path

Derived terms

duikweg

Adverb

weg

away

Dutch

Etymology

From Middle Dutch wech, from Old Dutch weh, weg, from Proto-Germanic *wegaz, from Proto-Indo-European *weǵʰ-.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ʋɛx/
audio (file)
Hyphenation: weg
Rhymes: -ɛx

Noun

weg m (plural wegen, diminutive wegje n or weggetje n)

way, road
manner, way (figuratively)
Waar een wil is, is een weg.
Where there's a will, there's a way.

Derived terms

autosnelweg
autoweg
omweg
rijweg
ringweg
rondweg
snelweg
straatweg
stroomweg
tolweg
ventweg
wegaanduiding
wegdek
wegenaanleg
wegenbouw
wegenkaart
wegennet
wegenwacht
weghelft
wegverkeer
wegvervoer
wegzetten

Descendants

Afrikaans: weg

Adverb

weg

away
gone, disappeared
Synonym: (slang) loesoe
(slang) hammered
Hij was echt weg toen.
He was really schnockered.

Derived terms

grofweg
halfweg
kortweg
weghalen
wegbringen
wegdrinken
wegkijken
wegnemen
wegsturen
wegvoeren
wegwerken

Descendants

Afrikaans: weg
Jersey Dutch: wääx

German

Etymology

Shortened from Middle High German enwec, from Old High German in weg, corresponding to modern in +‎ Weg. The first syllable is still seen in dialectal forms with e-, cf. Luxembourgish ewech. Cognate with Dutch weg, Hunsrik wech, English away.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /vɛk/ (standard)
audio (file)
audio (file)
IPA^(key): /vɛç/ (northern and central Germany; becoming rare for this particular word)
Audio (Bavarian) (file)

Adverb

weg

away
Geh weg! ― Go away!
gone, not there
Meine Tasche ist weg. ― My bag is gone.
Das Rezept ist mit Knoblauch, aber du kannst ihn auch weglassen.
The recipe is with garlic, but you can also do it without.
(literally, “... you can also leave it away.”)
(now rare) minus
- 2007, Michael Gaidoschik, Rechenschwäche verstehen - Kinder gezielt fördern: Ein Leitfaden für die Unterrichtspraxis:
  [...] 3+5 „drei und fünf“ oder „drei plus fünf“ [...] „8-5“ als „acht weg fünf“ oder „acht weniger fünf“ oder „acht minus fünf“ [...]
  (please add an English translation of this quote)
- 2008, Matthias E. Jacob, Der erotische Bücherwurm: Dreizehn Geschichten aller Art, 2nd edition:
  Mathematik war das noch nicht; man sagte „und“ und „weg“ und „mal“ und „durch“. Eigentlich sollte man diese Sprachregelung wieder einführen, denn es sagt sich viel leichter „1 weg minus 2 ist 3“ als „1 minus minus 2 ist 3“.
  (please add an English translation of this quote)
(regional, Westphalia) from
Wo bist du denn weg?
And you, where do you come from?
(informal) unconscious; passed out
(informal) hammered; so drunk as being close to unconsciousness

Synonyms

(away; gone): fort
(from): her
(hammered): breit, zu

Derived terms

weg-

Ibanag

Noun

weg

brook; stream; pond

North Frisian

Etymology

From Old Frisian wike. Cognates include West Frisian wike.

Noun

weg m (plural wegen)

(Föhr-Amrum) week

iansis a weg

once a week

iarst uun a weg, began faan a weg

beginning/start of the week

maden uun a weg, maden faan a weg

middle of the week

letst uun a weg, aanj faan a weg

middle of the week

Old Dutch

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *weg.

Noun

weg m

way, path

Inflection

Declension of weg

	Singular	Plural
nominative	weg	wega
accusative	weg	wega
genitive	weges	wego
dative	wege	wegon

Alternative forms

weh

Descendants

Middle Dutch: wech
- Dutch: weg
  - Afrikaans: weg
- Limburgish: waeg

Old English

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *wegaz.

Cognates include Old Frisian wei, Old Saxon weg, Old Dutch weg, Old High German weg, Old Norse vegr, Gothic 𐍅𐌹𐌲𐍃 (wigs). Compare West Frisian wei, Dutch weg, Icelandic vegur, Faroese vegur, Danish vej, Norwegian vei, and Swedish väg, which are all still the main word for both "way" and "road" in their respective languages.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /wej/

Noun

weġ m (nominative plural wegas)

way
- late 9th century, King Alfred's translation of Boethius' The Consolation of Philosophy
  Ġetǣċ mē þone weġ.
  Show me the way.
- c. 992, Ælfric of Eynsham, "The Epiphany of the Lord"
  Wē ne magon ġeċierran þæs weġes þe wē cōmon.
  We can't go back the way we came.
- late 9th century, translation of Bede's Ecclesiastical History
  Hē lǣdde mē eft þȳ selfan weġe þe wit ǣr cōmon.
  He brought me back the same way we came before.
- The Life of Saint Margaret
  Eall hīe hāl and ġesund on heora weġe hām ġewenton.
  They all went safe and sound on their way home.
- Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, year 888
  Æðelswīþ cwēn, sēo wæs Ælfrēdes sweostor cyninges, forþfērde be Rōme weġe.
  Queen Æthelswith, who was King Alfred's sister, died on the way to Rome.
- late 10th century, Ælfric, the Old English Hexateuch, Deuteronomy 1:22
  Uton sendan sċēaweras þæt sċēawiġen þæt land and cȳðen ūs on hwelcne weġ wē faran sċulon and tō hwelcum burgum.
  Let's send spies who can survey the land and tell us which way to go and to what cities.
road
- 10th century, Kentish gloss of the Book of Proverbs
  þurh þīestre wegas
  through dark roads
- late 10th century, Ælfric, the Old English Hexateuch, Numbers 21:22
  Swā swā sē weġ liġþ, wē faraþ.
  Wherever the road leads, we will go.

Usage notes

Weġ means "way" as in "path, road, direction, means to enter or leave a place." For "way" as in "method or manner of doing something, state or condition," the word used is wīse.

Declension

Declension of weg (strong a-stem)

Case	Singular	Plural
nominative	weġ	wegas
accusative	weġ	wegas
genitive	weġes	wega
dative	weġe	wegum

Derived terms

ċiricweġ
ealne weġ
gangweġ
hēafodweġ
hēahweġ
healfweġ
hereweġ
Iringes weġ
Norþweġ
onweġ

Descendants

Middle English: wei(gh)e, wai, wei, weie
- Scots: wey
- English: way

Old High German

Alternative forms

wec

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *weg. Cognate with Old Saxon weg, Old Dutch weg, Old English weġ, Old Norse vegr, Gothic 𐍅𐌹𐌲𐍃 (wigs).

Noun

weg m (plural wega)

way

Declension

Declension of weg (masculine a-stem)

case	singular	plural
nominative	weg	wega
accusative	weg	wega
genitive	weges	wego
dative	wege	wegum
instrumental	wegu	—

Descendants

Middle High German: wec
- Alemannic German: Wäg
- Bavarian:
  Cimbrian: bèg, bege
  Mòcheno: be
- Central Franconian: Wääch
  - Luxembourgish: Wee (from dative and plural)
  - Hunsrik: Wegh
- German: Weg
- Pennsylvania German: Weg
- Yiddish: וועג‎ (veg)

Old Saxon

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *weg, from Proto-Germanic *wegaz, from Proto-Indo-European *weǵʰ-.

Germanic cognates include Old English weġ (whence modern English way), Old Dutch weg, Old High German weg, Old Norse vegr, Gothic 𐍅𐌹𐌲𐍃 (wigs).

Noun

weg m

way; path; road

Declension

Declension of weg (masculine a-stem)

	singular	plural
nominative	weg	wegos
accusative	weg	wegos
genitive	weges	wegō
dative	wege	wegum
instrumental	—	—

Descendants

Middle Low German: wech
- Dutch Low Saxon: weg
- German Low German: Weg
- Plautdietsch: Wajch

weg

Afrikaans

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

Derived terms

Adverb

Dutch

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

Derived terms

Descendants

Adverb

Derived terms

Descendants

German

Etymology

Pronunciation

Adverb

Synonyms

Derived terms

Ibanag

Noun

North Frisian

Etymology

Noun

Old Dutch

Etymology

Noun

Inflection

Alternative forms

Descendants

Further reading

Old English

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

Usage notes

Declension

Derived terms

Descendants

Old High German

Alternative forms

Etymology

Noun

Declension

Descendants

Old Saxon

Etymology

Noun

Declension

Descendants