Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “to” come from?

To comes from Old English tō, from Latin te, from Proto-Indo-European deyḱ-, meaning to point or show.

to (English): A particle used for marking the following verb as...

Definitions

  1. A particle used for marking the following verb as...

Ancestry of “to”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishtotoe; to; too
2Middle Englishtonethe one
3LatintonusThe stretching or straining of a rope; A strain;...
4Ancient Greekτόνοςrope, cord; chord; tone, note
5Proto-Hellenictónosrope, cord; tension
6Proto-Indo-Europeantónossomething stretched; chord, fiber, string
7Proto-Indo-Europeanten-to stretch, to extend

Words derived from “to”

  • onto
  • whereto
  • to've
  • thitherto
  • side-to-side
  • go-to
  • todo
  • to-be
  • to-come
  • to-bread
  • to wisse
  • put to rest
  • face-to-face
  • for to
  • mark-to-market
  • hand-to-mouth
  • to-do
  • back to basics
Every word from Proto-Indo-European ten- →