Won
/wʌn/noun
Past tense and past participle of win; also the basic monetary unit of South Korea and North Korea.
Did you know?The English verb win and related Germanic forms come from an ancient root tied to striving and gaining, while the East Asian currency won is a separate loanword from a Chinese character meaning “round,” showing two totally different histories hiding behind the same spelling.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*wen-
“to strive for, desire, love”
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*winanan
“to strive after, gain, win”
Old English
OE
winnan
“to toil, struggle, fight, win”
Middle English
ME
winnen
“to struggle, conquer, obtain”
Modern English
English
win
“to obtain victory or achieve success”