Where does “against” come from?

Against comes from Middle English agenes, which derives from Middle English agen and the suffix Middle English -en, ultimately from Old English -en and Proto-Indo-European h₂egʰ-.

against (English): In a contrary direction to; In physical...

Definitions

  1. In a contrary direction to; In physical...

Ancestry of “against”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishayenesagainst
2Middle Englishagenes—
3Middle EnglishagenAlternative form of awen; to become older; to age
4Old Frenchaagier—

Words derived from “against”

Every word from Old French aagier →Every word from Middle English agen →Every word from Middle English agenes →