Where does “foreign country” come from?
foreign country (English) comes from English foreign, from Middle English foreyn, from Old French forain, from Vulgar Latin foranus, from Latin forās, from Latin -ās, from Latin -ātis, from Proto-Italic -āō — he, she.
foreign country (English): Any country of which one is not a citizen
Definitions
- Any country of which one is not a citizen
Ancestry of “foreign country”, step by step
foreign country traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English foreign
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | foreign | Located outside a country or place, especially... |
| 2 | Middle English | foreyn | Nonlocal; not from or in one's town or immediate... |
| 3 | Old French | forain | — |
| 4 | Vulgar Latin | foranus | outsider, outlander |
| 5 | Latin | forās | outside, outdoors (destination) |
| 6 | Latin | -ās | Used to form gentilic adjectives with the meaning "of/from" a country or place |
| 7 | Latin | -ātis | first conjugation |
| 8 | Proto-Italic | -āō | Forms primarily denominative verbs |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | -eh₂yéti | Creates iterative/ frequentative/ intensive... |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | -yéti | Creates intransitive, often deponent,... |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | yé- | — |
| 12 | Chichewa | iye | he, she |
via English country
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | country | An area of land; a district, region; A set region... |
| 2 | Middle English | contre | region, area; A political division, including;... |
| 3 | Old French | contree | country; the countryside |
| 4 | Latin | contrata | lying opposite; spread before |
| 5 | Latin | contra | against; opposite to; contrary to |
| 6 | Latin | rota | wheel; a car, a chariot; the disc of the sun |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | rotā | — |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | Hróth₂-eh₂ | — |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | Hreth₂- | to run |