Where does “on-” come from?
on- (Middle English) comes from Old English on-, from Old English and-, from Proto-West Germanic anda-, from Proto-Germanic anda-, from Proto-Indo-European h₂énti, from Proto-Indo-European h₂énts, from Proto-Indo-European h₂ent-, from Proto-Indo-European h₂en- — on, onto.
Ancestry of “on-”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Old English | on- | forming verbs and adjectives from participles and... |
| 2 | Old English | and- | against, opposing; in return, back; facing,... |
| 3 | Proto-West Germanic | anda- | against, opposing; in return, back; facing,... |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | anda- | against, opposing; un-, de- |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂énti | opposite; near; in front |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂énts | forehead; front |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂ent- | face; forehead; front |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂en- | on, onto |