Where does “encounter” come from?
Encounter comes from Middle English encountren, from Old French encountrer and encontrer, from Old French encontre meaning "against," ultimately from Latin incontra, composed of Latin in and a form related to Latin rota.
encounter (English): To meet (someone) or find (something), especially unexpectedly
Definitions
- To meet (someone) or find (something), especially unexpectedly
Ancestry of “encounter”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | encountren | — |
| 2 | Old French | encountrer | Alternative form of encontrer |
| 3 | Old French | encontrer | to meet; to encounter; to meet in battle; to... |
| 4 | Old French | encontre | meeting; battle; combat; opposite |
| 5 | Late Latin | incontra | towards |
| 6 | Latin | contrā | against |
| 7 | Latin | ubī | where? in what place?, in which place? |
| 8 | Latin | cubī | — |
| 9 | Proto-Italic | *kʷuðei | where |