Where does “wherefrom” come from?
wherefrom (English) comes from English From, from Middle English from, from Old English from, from Proto-West Germanic *fram, from Proto-Germanic fram, from Proto-Germanic framaz, from Proto-Indo-European prom-, from Proto-Indo-European por- — passed , crossed.
wherefrom (English): from which; whence
Definitions
- from which; whence
Ancestry of “wherefrom”, step by step
wherefrom traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English From
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | From | Used to indicate source or provenance |
| 2 | Middle English | from | from |
| 3 | Old English | from | bold, firm, resolute |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | *fram | — |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | fram | from; by, due to; forth, forward |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | framaz | forward, prominent |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | prom- | forth, forward |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | por- | to give birth; forward, through; going, passage |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | per- | before, in front; first; to go through |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | pr̥tós | passed , crossed |
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 |