Where does “a-” come from?

a- (Middle English) comes from Old English ā-, from Old English ar-, from Proto-West Germanic uʀ-, from Proto-Germanic uz-, from Proto-Indo-European uss-, from Proto-Indo-European uds-, from Proto-Indo-European úd — out, outward.

a- (Middle English): up, out, away; of; on, in

Definitions

  1. up, out, away; of; on, in

Ancestry of “a-”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Englishā-a-; away, out
2Old Englishar-—
3Proto-West Germanicuʀ-out, over; off, away
4Proto-Germanicuz-up, out
5Proto-Indo-Europeanuss-—
6Proto-Indo-Europeanuds-up, out
7Proto-Indo-Europeanúdout, outward

Words derived from “a-”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European úd →Every word from Proto-Indo-European uds- →Every word from Proto-Indo-European uss- →