Old English weart "wart," from Proto-Germanic *warton- (cognates: Old Norse varta, Old Frisian warte, Dutch wrat, Old High German warza, German warze "wart"), from PIE root *wer- (1) "high, raised spot on the body, or other bodily infirmity" (cognates: Latin verruca "swelling, wart;" see vary). Phrase warts and all "without concealment of blemishes" is attested from 1763, supposedly from Oliver Cromwell's instruction to his portrait painter.