Here's a simplified explanation of its evolution:
* Proto-Indo-European: The word "word" ultimately comes from a Proto-Indo-European root, likely something like "*wérdʰo" meaning "speech, word."
* Old English: Around the 7th century, it entered Old English as "word," which then evolved into the modern English "word."
Essentially, the word "word" gradually developed over time from a shared ancestor of many languages. It wasn't created by a single person, but rather by the collective linguistic evolution of countless speakers over generations.