Where does “erst” come from?

erst (Middle English) comes from Old English ǣrest, from Proto-Germanic airist, from Proto-Germanic airi, from Proto-Germanic airiz — earlier, before; comparative degree of *airi.

Ancestry of “erst”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Englishǣrestfirst, erst, at first, before all; earliest
2Proto-Germanicairistearliest, at first; superlative degree of *airi
3Proto-Germanicairiearly
4Proto-Germanicairizearlier, before; comparative degree of *airi
Every word from Proto-Germanic airiz →