Where does “for-” come from?

for- (English) comes from Middle English for-, from Old English for-, from Proto-Germanic fra-, from Proto-Indo-European pro-, from Proto-Indo-European por-, from Proto-Indo-European per-, from Proto-Indo-European pr̥tós — passed , crossed.

for- (English): Far, away; from, out; Completely; to the fullest...

Definitions

  1. Far, away; from, out; Completely; to the fullest...

Ancestry of “for-”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishfor-for
2Old Englishfor-wrongly, away from, astray, abstention,...
3Proto-Germanicfra-off, away; completely, fully, up
4Proto-Indo-Europeanpro-toward, forward
5Proto-Indo-Europeanpor-to give birth; forward, through; going, passage
6Proto-Indo-Europeanper-before, in front; first; to go through
7Proto-Indo-Europeanpr̥tóspassed , crossed

Words derived from “for-

Every word from Proto-Indo-European pr̥tós