Where does “whithertofore” come from?
whithertofore (English) comes from English Fore, from German Fahr, from German Fähre, from Middle High German verren, from Old High German ferrana, from Old High German ferro, from Proto-West Germanic *ferrō, from Proto-Germanic ferrai — passed , crossed.
whithertofore (English): Up which to the present time; until which thereabouts date and time; from the beginning to which point or position
Definitions
- Up which to the present time; until which thereabouts date and time; from the beginning to which point or position
Ancestry of “whithertofore”, step by step
whithertofore traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English Fore
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Fore | A people of Papua New Guinea |
| 2 | German | Fahr | — |
| 3 | German | Fähre | ferry |
| 4 | Middle High German | verren | — |
| 5 | Old High German | ferrana | from afar |
| 6 | Old High German | ferro | afar; skipper |
| 7 | Proto-West Germanic | *ferrō | — |
| 8 | Proto-Germanic | ferrai | far, distant |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | per-nóy | — |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | per- | before, in front; first; to go through |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | pr̥tós | passed , crossed |
via English whitherto
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | whitherto | To where; to which place or destination |
| 2 | English | to | A particle used for marking the following verb as... |
| 3 | Middle English | to | toe; to; too |
| 4 | Middle English | tone | the one |
| 5 | Latin | tonus | The stretching or straining of a rope; A strain;... |
| 6 | Ancient Greek | τόνος | rope, cord; chord; tone, note |
| 7 | Proto-Hellenic | tónos | rope, cord; tension |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | tónos | something stretched; chord, fiber, string |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | ten- | to stretch, to extend |