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
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Old English | efn- | — |
| 2 | Old English | efn | equal, level, even |
| 3 | Proto-West Germanic | ebn | even, level |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | ebnaz | even, level |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | h₁émnos | equal, straight; flat, level, even |
Words derived from “even-”