Where does “newer” come from?
Newer comes from English new, from Middle English newe, from Old English nefa, from Proto-Germanic niwjaz, from Proto-Indo-European népōts, ultimately from the Proto-Indo-European root new-.
newer (English): comparative form of new: more new, more recent
Definitions
- comparative form of new: more new, more recent
Ancestry of “newer”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle English | newer | — |
| 2 | Old English | nīwra | — |
| 3 | Proto-Germanic | niwizô | comparative degree of *niwjaz; newer |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | *niwjaz | — |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | néwyos | Alternative form of *néwos; new |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | néwos | new |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | new- | new; to nod, assent to |