Etymology Explorer › Middle English

Where does “for-” come from?

for- (Middle English) comes from Old English for-, from Proto-Germanic fra-, from Proto-Indo-European pro-, from Proto-Indo-European por-, from Proto-Indo-European per-, from Proto-Indo-European pr̥tós — passed , crossed.

Ancestry of “for-”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Englishfor-wrongly, away from, astray, abstention,...
2Proto-Germanicfra-off, away; completely, fully, up
3Proto-Indo-Europeanpro-toward, forward
4Proto-Indo-Europeanpor-to give birth; forward, through; going, passage
5Proto-Indo-Europeanper-before, in front; first; to go through
6Proto-Indo-Europeanpr̥tóspassed , crossed

Words derived from “for-”

  • forecast
  • forecasting
  • forecaster
  • forsaid
  • forwent
  • forecastable
  • forecastability
  • unforecastable
  • forcast
  • forfoughten
  • unforecast
  • forworship
  • forwaste
  • forwasted
  • forbar
  • formay
  • forhang
  • forcasten
  • for-
  • forbathe
  • formake
  • forlay
  • forsloth
  • forlend
Every word from Proto-Indo-European pr̥tós →