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

there traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Old English þær

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

via Middle English there

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle EnglishthereAlternative form of þeir
2Old Englishþēr—

Words derived from “there”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European só →Every word from Proto-Indo-European to- →Every word from Proto-Indo-European tar- →