Where does “even-” come from?

even- (English) comes from Middle English even-, from Old English efn-, from Old English efn, from Proto-West Germanic ebn, from Proto-Germanic ebnaz, from Proto-Indo-European h₁émnos — equal, straight; flat, level, even.

even- (English): Prefix occurring mostly in older terms, bearing...

Definitions

  1. Prefix occurring mostly in older terms, bearing...

Ancestry of “even-”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englisheven-—
2Old Englishefn-denoting equality: equal, equally
3Old Englishefnequal, level, even
4Proto-West Germanicebneven, level
5Proto-Germanicebnazeven, level
6Proto-Indo-Europeanh₁émnosequal, straight; flat, level, even
Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₁émnos →Every word from Proto-Germanic ebnaz →Every word from Proto-West Germanic ebn →
even- — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer