Where does “on-” come from?

on- (Old English) comes from Proto-Germanic ana-, from Proto-Germanic an-, from Proto-Indo-European ano-.

on- (Old English): forming verbs and adjectives from participles and...

Definitions

  1. forming verbs and adjectives from participles and...

Ancestry of “on-”, step by step

on- traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Proto-Germanic ana-

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Proto-Germanicana-on-; on
2Proto-Germanican-—
3Proto-Indo-Europeanano-—

via Proto-West Germanic ana-

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Proto-West Germanicana-Forming verbs and adjectives from participles and...
2Proto-Germanicanaon, at; on, onto; ana

Words derived from “on-”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European ano- →Every word from Proto-Germanic an- →Every word from Proto-Germanic ana- →