Where does “arrest” come from?
arrest (Middle Dutch) comes from Old French arest, from Vulgar Latin arrestare, from Latin restō, from Latin rĕ-, from Latin prōdūcō, from Latin prō-, from Proto-Italic *pro-, from Proto-Indo-European pro- — passed , crossed.
Ancestry of “arrest”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Old French | arest | delay; hesitation |
| 2 | Vulgar Latin | arrestare | present active infinitive of *arrestō |
| 3 | Latin | restō | to stand firm; to stay behind |
| 4 | Latin | rĕ- | back, backwards |
| 5 | Latin | prōdūcō | to lead or bring forth, forward or out |
| 6 | Latin | prō- | forward direction, forward movement |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | *pro- | pro- see the Latin entry for further meanings |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | pro- | toward, forward |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | por- | to give birth; forward, through; going, passage |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | per- | before, in front; first; to go through |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | pr̥tós | passed , crossed |