Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “neighbors” come from?

neighbors (English) comes from English neighbor, from Middle English neyghebour, from Old English nēahġebūr, from Proto-West Germanic nāhwagabūrō, from Proto-Germanic nēhwagabūrô, from Proto-Germanic nēhwaz, from Proto-Indo-European h₂nḗḱwos, from Proto-Indo-European h₂neḱ- — to reach, to attain.

neighbors (English): plural of neighbor; Third-person singular simple...

Definitions

  1. plural of neighbor; Third-person singular simple...

Ancestry of “neighbors”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishneighborUS standard spelling of neighbour
2Middle Englishneyghebour—
3Old Englishnēahġebūrneighbour
4Proto-West Germanicnāhwagabūrō—
5Proto-Germanicnēhwagabūrôneighbour
6Proto-Germanicnēhwaznear, close
7Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂nḗḱwos—
8Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂neḱ-to reach, to attain
Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₂neḱ- →