Where does “whereunto” come from?
Whereunto comes from Middle English whereunto, from Old English hwǣr meaning "at what place," combined with Old English unto, ultimately deriving from Proto-Germanic hwar and Proto-Indo-European kʷo- with the locative suffix -r.
whereunto (English): unto what; to what purpose; unto which
Definitions
- unto what; to what purpose; unto which
Ancestry of “whereunto”, step by step
whereunto traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
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 |