Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “Fahrenheit” come from?

Fahrenheit comes from German Fahrenheit, composed of German fahren and the suffix -heit, from Middle High German varn, Old High German faran, and Proto-Germanic faraną, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European per- meaning to go or traverse.

Fahrenheit (English): Describing a temperature scale originally defined...

Definitions

  1. Describing a temperature scale originally defined...

Ancestry of “Fahrenheit”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1GermanFahrenheitFahrenheit
2Germanfahrento locomote forth in an accelerated speed; to go;...
3Middle High Germanvarn—
4Old High Germanfaranto proceed
5Proto-Germanicfaran—
6Proto-Germanicfaranąto go, to travel
7Proto-Indo-Europeanper-before, in front; first; to go through
8Proto-Indo-Europeanpr̥tóspassed , crossed
Every word from Proto-Indo-European pr̥tós →