Where does “afore” come from?

afore (Middle English) comes from Old English onforan, from Old English on, from Proto-West Germanic ana, from Proto-Germanic *an, from Proto-Germanic ana, from Proto-Indo-European h₂en- — on, onto.

afore (Middle English): before; afore; before; afore: in advance of the...

Definitions

  1. before; afore; before; afore: in advance of the...

Ancestry of “afore”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Englishonforanbefore, in front of
2Old Englishonon, in, at, among; from
3Proto-West Germanicanaon
4Proto-Germanic*an—
5Proto-Germanicanaon, at; on, onto; ana
6Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂en-on, onto

Words derived from “afore”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₂en- →