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wend

[wend]
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verb (used with object), wend·ed or (Archaic) went; wend·ing.
  1. to pursue or direct (one's way).
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verb (used without object), wend·ed or (Archaic) went; wend·ing.
  1. to proceed or go.
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Origin of wend

before 900; Middle English wenden, Old English wendan; cognate with Dutch, German wenden, Gothic wandjan, causative of -windan to wind2
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for wended

Historical Examples

  • "And all this has been my doing," thought Tony, as he wended his way homewards.

    Tony Butler

    Charles James Lever

  • And this was the burden of his musings as he wended his way towards home.

    Tony Butler

    Charles James Lever

  • On the whole, he meant to stay there until the two armies had wended their ways.

    The Long Roll

    Mary Johnston

  • And with this indulgent conclusion, Edward wended on his way.

    Aunt Deborah

    Mary Russell Mitford

  • Such was Bensef's remark to his wife, as they wended their way homeward.

    Rabbi and Priest

    Milton Goldsmith

British Dictionary definitions for wended

wend

verb
  1. to direct (one's course or way); travelwend one's way home
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Word Origin

Old English wendan; related to Old High German wenten, Gothic wandjan; see wind ²

Wend

noun
  1. (esp in medieval European history) a Sorb; a member of the Slavonic people who inhabited the area between the Rivers Saale and Oder in the early Middle Ages and were conquered by Germanic invaders by the 12th centurySee also Lusatia
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for wended

Wend

member of a Slavic people of eastern Germany, 1610s (implied in Wendish), from German Wende, from Old High German Winida, related to Old English Winedas "Wends," ultimately from Celt. *vindo- "white."

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wend

v.

"to proceed on," Old English wendan "to turn, go," from Proto-Germanic *wandijanan (cf. Old Saxon wendian, Old Norse venda, Old Frisian wenda, Dutch wenden, German wenden, Gothic wandjan "to turn"), causative of Old English windan "to turn, twist" (see wind (v.)), from root *wand-, *wend- "turn." Surviving only in to wend one's way, and in hijacked past tense form went.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper