Where does “back-” come from?

back- (English) comes from Middle English bak-, from Middle English abak, from Old English onbæc, from Old English on, from Proto-West Germanic ana, from Proto-Germanic *an, from Proto-Germanic ana, from Proto-Indo-European h₂en- — on, onto.

back- (English): Back "in its adverbial senses"; Situated,...

Definitions

  1. Back "in its adverbial senses"; Situated,...

Ancestry of “back-”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishbak-—
2Middle Englishabakbackward, away
3Old Englishonbæcbackwards, back
4Old Englishonon, in, at, among; from
5Proto-West Germanicanaon
6Proto-Germanic*an—
7Proto-Germanicanaon, at; on, onto; ana
8Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂en-on, onto

Words derived from “back-”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₂en- →