Wode
/woʊd/noun
An archaic English word meaning mad, frenzied, or wild; also used historically as a noun for madness or fury.
Did you know?Old English **wōd** comes from the same ancient root as **Woden**—the god-name behind Wednesday—so the word and the deity both carry the idea of ecstatic, inspired frenzy.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*weh₂t-
“to be excited, inspired, or mad”
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*wōda-
“mad, furious, possessed”
Old English
OE
wōd
“mad, frenzied, insane; also fury or madness”
Old Norse
ON
óðr
“frenzy, inspiration, poetic ecstasy”
Middle English
English
wode
“mad, wild, furious”
Modern English
English
wode
“archaic spelling of 'wood' or historical form of 'wode' in older texts”
Explore more surprising origins