Where does “forefæder” come from?

forefæder (Old English) comes from Old English fæder, from Proto-West Germanic fader, from Proto-Germanic fadēr, from Proto-Indo-European ph₂tḗr, from Proto-Indo-European peh₂- — to protect; to shepherd.

forefæder (Old English): forefather

Definitions

  1. forefather

Ancestry of “forefæder”, step by step

forefæder traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Old English fæder

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Englishfæderfather
2Proto-West Germanicfaderfather
3Proto-Germanicfadērfather
4Proto-Indo-Europeanph₂tḗrfather
5Proto-Indo-Europeanpeh₂-to protect; to shepherd

via Old English fore

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Englishforebefore; forepart, front
2Proto-Germanicfuraibefore, in front of; before, in front
3Proto-Indo-Europeanpreh₂-before, in front
4Proto-Indo-Europeanper-before, in front; first; to go through
5Proto-Indo-Europeanpr̥tóspassed , crossed

Words derived from “forefæder”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European peh₂- →Every word from Proto-Indo-European ph₂tḗr →Every word from Proto-Germanic fadēr →