Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “approach” come from?

Approach comes from Middle English approchen, from Old French aprochier, from Late Latin appropiare, formed from Latin ad- meaning "to" and a root from Proto-Indo-European h₂éd.

approach (English): To come or go near, in place or time; to draw...

Definitions

  1. To come or go near, in place or time; to draw...

Ancestry of “approach”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishaprochen—
2Old Frenchaprochierto approach
3LatinapproprioI make it my own, appropriate
4Latinad-to; usually prefixed to verbs, in which cases it...
5Latinīn-—
6Latinîn—
7Latinenlookǃ beholdǃ; reallyǃ?; come onǃ
8Proto-Italicenin
9Proto-Indo-Europeanh₁énin

Words derived from “approach”

  • unapproachable
  • approachable
  • approachability
  • approacheth
  • unapproachably
  • inapproachable
  • unapproachableness
  • reapproach
  • unapproachability
  • approachest
  • approachableness
  • approacher
  • counterapproach
  • approachless
  • multiapproach
  • inapproachably
Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₁én →