Where does “even-” come from?

even- (Middle English) comes from Old English efn-, from Old English efn, from Proto-West Germanic ebn, from Proto-Germanic ebnaz, from Proto-Indo-European h₁émnos — equal, straight; flat, level, even.

Ancestry of “even-”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Englishefn-denoting equality: equal, equally
2Old Englishefnequal, level, even
3Proto-West Germanicebneven, level
4Proto-Germanicebnazeven, level
5Proto-Indo-Europeanh₁émnosequal, straight; flat, level, even

Words derived from “even-”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₁émnos →Every word from Proto-Germanic ebnaz →Every word from Proto-West Germanic ebn →