Where does “go” come from?

Go comes from Japanese 碁, from Chinese 圍棋, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European ǵʰengʰ-.

go (English): To move, either physically or in an abstract sense

Definitions

  1. To move, either physically or in an abstract sense

Ancestry of “go”, step by step

go traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Middle English goon

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle EnglishgoonAlternative form of gon
2Middle Englishgonto go; past participle of gon; Alternative form...
3Old Englishgānto go
4Proto-West Germanicgānto go
5Proto-Germanicgānąto go, walk
6Proto-Indo-Europeanǵʰengʰ-to walk; to step

via English the go

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Englishthe gothe rage, fashionable; in motion

Words derived from “go”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European ǵʰengʰ- →Every word from Proto-Germanic gāną →Every word from Proto-West Germanic gān →