Where does “for” come from?

for (Esperanto) comes from English Forth, from English Fourth, from Middle English fourthe, from Middle English ferthe, from Old English fēorþa, from Proto-West Germanic feurþō, from Proto-Germanic fedurþô — fourth.

for (Esperanto): away, far, gone

Definitions

  1. away, far, gone

Ancestry of “for”, step by step

for traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English Forth

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishForththat flows for about 47 km (29 miles) from The Trossachs through Stirling to the Firth of Forth on the North Sea
2EnglishFourthThe Fourth of July
3Middle EnglishfourtheAlternative form of ferthe
4Middle Englishferthefourth; One of four equal parts of a whole; a...
5Old Englishfēorþafourth
6Proto-West Germanicfeurþōfourth
7Proto-Germanicfedurþôfourth

via German fôrt

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Germanfôrt—
2Frenchfortstrong; powerful; skilled, proficient,...
3Old Frenchfortstrong; strongly
4Latinfortisstrong, powerful; firm, resolute, steadfast,...
5Old Latinforctisstrong
6Proto-Italicforktisstrong, robust
7Proto-Indo-Europeanbʰerǵʰ-to rise; high, lofty; hill, mountain

Words derived from “for”

Every word from Proto-Germanic fedurþô →Every word from Proto-West Germanic feurþō →Every word from Old English fēorþa →