Where does “fore-mast” come from?

fore-mast (English) comes from English Fore, from German Fahr, from German Fähre, from Middle High German verren, from Old High German ferrana, from Old High German ferro, from Proto-West Germanic *ferrō, from Proto-Germanic ferrai — passed , crossed.

fore-mast (English): Alternative spelling of foremast

Definitions

  1. Alternative spelling of foremast

Ancestry of “fore-mast”, step by step

fore-mast traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English Fore

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishForeA people of Papua New Guinea
2GermanFahr—
3GermanFähreferry
4Middle High Germanverren—
5Old High Germanferranafrom afar
6Old High Germanferroafar; skipper
7Proto-West Germanic*ferrō—
8Proto-Germanicferraifar, distant
9Proto-Indo-Europeanper-nóy—
10Proto-Indo-Europeanper-before, in front; first; to go through
11Proto-Indo-Europeanpr̥tóspassed , crossed

via English Mast

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishMast—
2Frenchmassea paste, a dough; large amount or quantity of...
3Old Frenchmacemace weapon
4Vulgar Latinmattia—
5LatinmateolaThe meaning of this term is uncertain....
6Latin-ulusUsed to form a diminutive of a noun, indicating...
7Proto-Italic-olos—
8Proto-Italic-elosForms desubstantival and deadjectival diminutive nouns
9Proto-Indo-European-e-lós—
10Proto-Indo-European-lósForms agent nouns from verbal roots
Every word from Proto-Indo-European pr̥tós →Every word from Proto-Indo-European per- →Every word from Proto-Indo-European per-nóy →