Where does “foremother” come from?
foremother (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.
foremother (English): A female ancestor
Definitions
- A female ancestor
Ancestry of “foremother”, step by step
foremother traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English Fore
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Fore | A people of Papua New Guinea |
| 2 | German | Fahr | — |
| 3 | German | Fähre | ferry |
| 4 | Middle High German | verren | — |
| 5 | Old High German | ferrana | from afar |
| 6 | Old High German | ferro | afar; skipper |
| 7 | Proto-West Germanic | *ferrō | — |
| 8 | Proto-Germanic | ferrai | far, distant |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | per-nóy | — |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | per- | before, in front; first; to go through |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | pr̥tós | passed , crossed |
via English mother
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | mother | A female who has given birth to a baby; A human... |
| 2 | Middle English | modren | plural of moder |
| 3 | Middle English | -en | Denotes the past participle form when attached to... |
| 4 | Old English | -en | mæġþ + API → mæġden; cocc + API → cycen, cicen;... |
| 5 | Old Norse | -inn | Used to create adjectives from nouns, meaning... |
| 6 | Proto-Norse | -īna- | — |
| 7 | Proto-Germanic | -īnaz | -en |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | -iHnos | Creates adjectives of materials |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | -no- | adjectival suffix |