Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “lower” come from?

Lower comes from English low combined with the Old French comparative suffix -er, which derives from Latin -āre and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European klek- meaning to bend or recline.

lower (English): comparative form of low: more low; bottom; more...

Definitions

  1. comparative form of low: more low; bottom; more...

Ancestry of “lower”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishlowSituated close to, or even below, the ground or...
2EnglishallowTo grant, give, admit, accord, afford, or yield;...
3Middle Englishallowen—
4Old FrenchalouerAlternative form of aloer
5Latinallocō—
6Latinad-to; usually prefixed to verbs, in which cases it...
7Latinīn-—
8Latinîn—
9Latinenlookǃ beholdǃ; reallyǃ?; come onǃ
10Proto-Italicenin
11Proto-Indo-Europeanh₁énin

Words derived from “lower”

  • lowermost
  • lowery
  • lowereth
  • lowerable
  • lowerarchy
  • lowerer
  • lowerest
  • nonlower
Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₁én →