Where does “forþgan” come from?

forþgan (Old English) comes from Old English gān, from Proto-West Germanic gān, from Proto-Germanic gāną, from Proto-Indo-European ǵʰengʰ- — to walk; to step.

forþgan (Old English): to go forth, proceed, go or pass by

Definitions

  1. to go forth, proceed, go or pass by

Ancestry of “forþgan”, step by step

forþgan traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Old English gān

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Englishgānto go
2Proto-West Germanicgānto go
3Proto-Germanicgānąto go, walk
4Proto-Indo-Europeanǵʰengʰ-to walk; to step

via Old English forþ

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Englishforþ"expresses the continuation of an action"; out,...
2Proto-Germanicfurþąforward
3Proto-Indo-Europeanpr̥to-—
Every word from Proto-Indo-European ǵʰengʰ- →Every word from Proto-Germanic gāną →Every word from Proto-West Germanic gān →