Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “fear” come from?

Fear derives from Middle English fere, Old English fēre, and Proto-Indo-European per-, ultimately tracing to Proto-Indo-European pr̥tós.

fear (English): A strong, uncontrollable, unpleasant emotion or...

Definitions

  1. A strong, uncontrollable, unpleasant emotion or...

Ancestry of “fear”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishfere—
2Old Englishfēreable to go, fit for service
3Proto-Germanicfērizcrossing, able to cross
4Proto-Indo-Europeanper-before, in front; first; to go through
5Proto-Indo-Europeanpr̥tóspassed , crossed

Words derived from “fear”

  • feared
  • fearing
  • fearless
  • fearlessly
  • fearsome
  • fearlessness
  • fearest
  • fearsomely
  • fearsomeness
  • unfearing
  • fearer
  • unfeared
  • fearingly
  • fearmonger
  • fearnaught
  • unfearingly
  • antifear
  • technofear
  • unfear
  • overfear
  • fearlike
  • fearedness
  • fearscape
  • fearable
Every word from Proto-Indo-European pr̥tós →