Where does “zadarmo” come from?

zadarmo (Czech) comes from Czech za, from Old Czech za, from Proto-Slavic za — behind, after (stationary).

zadarmo (Czech): free, free of charge

Definitions

  1. free, free of charge

Ancestry of “zadarmo”, step by step

zadarmo traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Czech za

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Czechzafor; in; API
2Old Czechzain, during
3Proto-Slaviczabehind, after (stationary)

via Czech darmo

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Czechdarmouselessly, in vain
2Old Czechdarmo—
Every word from Proto-Slavic za →Every word from Old Czech za →Every word from Czech za →