Where does “as” come from?
as (Middle English) comes from Old French as, from Vulgar Latin *as, from Latin habes, from Arabic حَبَش — Abyssinian; Abysinnian.
as (Middle English): as; ace; The lowest possible throw in dice
Definitions
- as; ace; The lowest possible throw in dice
Ancestry of “as”, step by step
as traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Old French as
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Old French | as | a score of one on a die; second-person singular... |
| 2 | Vulgar Latin | *as | — |
| 3 | Latin | habes | second-person singular present active indicative... |
| 4 | Arabic | حَبَش | Abyssinian; Abysinnian |
via Old English eallswā
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Old English | eallswā | just so; as; completely so, additionally, just... |
| 2 | Proto-Germanic | *allswā | — |