Etymology Explorer › Esperanto

Where does “sur-” come from?

sur- (Esperanto) comes from Esperanto sur, from French sûr, from Middle French sur, from Old French seür, from Latin super, from Latin eks-uper, from Proto-Indo-European upéri, from Proto-Indo-European upér.

Ancestry of “sur-”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Esperantosuron, upon
2Frenchsûrsure, certain; trustworthy; safe
3Middle Frenchsur—
4Old FrenchseürAlternative form of seur; sure
5Latinsuper"accusative" above, on the top of, upon;...
6Latineks-uper—
7Proto-Indo-Europeanupérialternative reconstruction of *upér
8Proto-Indo-Europeanupérabove; over
9Proto-Indo-Europeanupóunder, below
10Proto-Indo-Europeanh₃ewp-—

Words derived from “sur-”

  • surŝultrigi
  • surmeti
  • surteriĝi
Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₃ewp- →