Where does “abovementioned” come from?
Above comes from Middle English aboven, Old English ābufan, combining Old English a with Proto-Germanic bi and ultimately tracing to Proto-Indo-European roots h₂eyu-, ki-, and key-.
abovementioned (English): mentioned above
Definitions
- mentioned above
Ancestry of “abovementioned”, step by step
abovementioned traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English above
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | above | Physically over; on top of; worn on top of, said... |
| 2 | Middle English | aboven | above |
| 3 | Old English | ābufan | above |
| 4 | Old English | bufan | above |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | *biobanā | — |
| 6 | Proto-West Germanic | *obanā | from above |
| 7 | Proto-Germanic | ubanē | from above |
| 8 | Proto-Germanic | upp | up, upwards |
| 9 | Proto-Germanic | ub | under |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | upó | under, below |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | h₃ewp- | — |
via English mentioned
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | mentioned | simple past tense and past participle of mention |