Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “there” come from?

There comes from Middle English ther and þeir, from Proto-Germanic þar, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European roots meaning to cross or traverse.

there (English): In a place or location at some distance from the...

Definitions

  1. In a place or location at some distance from the...

Ancestry of “there”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Englishþærthere
2Proto-West Germanicþārthere
3Proto-Germanicþarthere, in that place
4Proto-Indo-Europeantar-there
5Proto-Indo-Europeanto-it; that; the, that
6Proto-Indo-Europeansóthis; that

Words derived from “there”

  • der
  • thereby
  • therein
  • thereon
  • therefrom
  • therefor
  • thereabouts
  • thereunto
  • thereat
  • thereabout
  • therewithal
  • thereinto
  • thereness
  • thereanent
  • thereinbefore
  • therethrough
  • therewithin
  • the'e
  • therebetween
  • therebefore
  • therearound
  • thereamong
  • therebeside
  • therewhile
Every word from Proto-Indo-European só →