Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “long” come from?

Long comes from Middle English longen, from Old English lang, ultimately derived from Proto-Indo-European dl̥h₁gʰós.

long (English): Having much distance from one terminating point...

Definitions

  1. Having much distance from one terminating point...

Ancestry of “long”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishlongitudeAngular distance measured west or east of the...
2Old Frenchlongitude—
3Latinlongitūdō—
4Latinlongusfar, long; extended, prolonged; long; tedious,...
5Latin-ē—
6Latindis-asunder, apart, in two; reversal, removal;...
7Latincalceusshoe
8Latincalxlimestone; chalk; the finish line
9Ancient Greekχάλιξsmall stone, pebble; gravel, rubble

Words derived from “long”

  • longest
  • lifelong
  • longtime
  • longterm
  • longish
  • longsuffering
  • weeklong
  • longboat
  • yearlong
  • longhand
  • daylong
  • overlong
  • erelong
  • longline
  • longbow
  • Longview
  • longhaired
  • longwave
  • longleaf
  • longhorn
  • monthlong
  • longeth
  • longshot
  • longsword
Every word from Ancient Greek χάλιξ →