Where does “Forth” come from?
Forth derives from Old English fēorþa, from Proto-Germanic fedurþô, from Proto-Indo-European kʷetwṓr, the word for the number four.
Ancestry of “Forth”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | Fourth | — |
| 2 | Middle English | fourthe | Alternative form of ferthe |
| 3 | Middle English | ferthe | fourth; One of four equal parts of a whole; a... |
| 4 | Old English | fēorþa | fourth |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | feurþō | fourth |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | fedurþô | fourth |