Where does “undersigned” come from?
Undersigned derives from Middle English under- combined with signed, ultimately tracing through Old English under-, Proto-Germanic under, and Proto-Indo-European n̥dʰér and h₁en.
undersigned (English): having signatures at the end or bottom; having...
Definitions
- having signatures at the end or bottom; having...
Ancestry of “undersigned”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | under- | Under : insufficient, insufficiently, below what... |
| 2 | English | under | In or at a lower level than; As a subject of;... |
| 3 | Middle English | under | — |
| 4 | Old English | under | under |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | under | among, between; under, beneath; under |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | h₁entér | between |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | h₁en | in; in, inside |