Where does “whereabove” come from?
whereabove (English) comes from English above, from Middle English aboven, from Old English ābufan, from Old English bufan, from Proto-West Germanic *biobanā, from Proto-West Germanic *obanā, from Proto-Germanic ubanē, from Proto-Germanic upp.
whereabove (English): Above which
Definitions
- Above which
Ancestry of “whereabove”, step by step
whereabove traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English above
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | above | Physically over; on top of; worn on top of, said... |
| 2 | Middle English | aboven | above |
| 3 | Old English | ābufan | above |
| 4 | Old English | bufan | above |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | *biobanā | — |
| 6 | Proto-West Germanic | *obanā | from above |
| 7 | Proto-Germanic | ubanē | from above |
| 8 | Proto-Germanic | upp | up, upwards |
| 9 | Proto-Germanic | ub | under |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | upó | under, below |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | h₃ewp- | — |
via English where
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | where | While on the contrary; although; whereas; At or... |
| 2 | Middle English | wher | where |
| 3 | Old English | hwǣr | where |
| 4 | Old English | -a | Ending forming adverbs; nominative masculine... |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | -ō | Creates feminine nouns from roots and stems |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | -ô | -ly; Forms agent nouns, often from the zero-grade... |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | -ō | Derives nouns from roots |