Where does “sternforemost” come from?

sternforemost (English) comes from English Stern, from English tern, from Middle English terne, from Old French terne, from Latin ternas, from Latin terni, from Latin ter, from Latin terr.

sternforemost (English): With the stern, instead of the bow, in advance;...

Definitions

  1. With the stern, instead of the bow, in advance;...

Ancestry of “sternforemost”, step by step

sternforemost traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English Stern

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishSternHaving a hardness and severity of nature or manner
2EnglishternAny of various sea birds of the family Sternidae...
3Middle Englishterne
4Old Frenchternedull, dim
5Latinternasaccusative feminine plural of terni
6Latinternithree each; three at a time
7Latinterthrice
8Latinterr
9Old Latintris
10Proto-Italictrēsthree
11Proto-Indo-European*tréyes

via English foremost

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Englishforemostfirst, either in time or in space; Most forward;...
2Old Englishformestfirst
3Old Englishformafirst
4Old Englishforebefore; forepart, front
5Proto-Germanicfuraibefore, in front of; before, in front
6Proto-Indo-Europeanpreh₂-before, in front
7Proto-Indo-Europeanper-before, in front; first; to go through
8Proto-Indo-Europeanpr̥tóspassed , crossed
Every word from Proto-Indo-European *tréyes