Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “fart” come from?

Fart comes from Middle English ferten, from Old English feortan, from Proto-Germanic fertaną, from Proto-Indo-European perd-.

fart (English): To emit digestive gases from the anus; to...

Definitions

  1. To emit digestive gases from the anus; to...

Ancestry of “fart”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishferten—
2Old Englishfeortanto fart
3Proto-Germanicfertanąto break wind, fart
4Proto-Indo-Europeanperd-to fart loudly, pass gas, break wind

Words derived from “fart”

  • farty
  • fartless
  • fartlike
  • farthead
  • farthole
  • fartface
  • fartometer
  • outfart
  • fartknocker
Every word from Proto-Indo-European perd- →