An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/wohnen

by Friedrich Kluge

wohnen, verb, ‘to dwell,’ from the equivalent Middle High German wonen, Old High German wonên, weak verb; corresponding to Old Saxon wunôn, Dutch wonen, Anglo-Saxon wunian, ‘to dwell, be, remain.’ Beside these West Teutonic cognates there are those of gewohnt; the Aryan root wen, on which they are based, probably meant ‘to please,’ which is suggested by Gothic wunan, Old Icelandic una, ‘to rejoice’; the ‘wonted thing’ is ‘that with which one is pleased’; wohnen, literally ‘to find pleasure anywhere.’ From the same Aryan root wen are derived Old Saxon and Old High German wini (Middle High German wine), ‘friend,’ Latin Venus, ‘goddess of love,’ the Sanscrit root van, ‘to be fond of, love,’ Sanscrit vánas, ‘delight.’ Compare also Wonne and Wunsch.