Etymology Explorer › Old French

Where does “sur-” come from?

sur- (Old French) comes from Latin super-, from Latin super, from Latin eks-uper, from Proto-Indo-European upéri, from Proto-Indo-European upér, from Proto-Indo-European upó, from Proto-Indo-European h₃ewp-.

sur- (Old French): over, on top of

Definitions

  1. over, on top of

Ancestry of “sur-”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Latinsuper-super-; over, above
2Latinsuper"accusative" above, on the top of, upon;...
3Latineks-uper—
4Proto-Indo-Europeanupérialternative reconstruction of *upér
5Proto-Indo-Europeanupérabove; over
6Proto-Indo-Europeanupóunder, below
7Proto-Indo-Europeanh₃ewp-—

Words derived from “sur-”

  • surface
  • surprise
  • survey
  • surprising
  • surrender
  • surprisingly
  • surveillance
  • surveying
  • surmise
  • insurmountable
  • surrendering
  • subsurface
  • surmount
  • surfacing
  • unsurprising
  • surfeit
  • unsurprisingly
  • surrealism
  • resurface
  • undersurface
  • surtax
  • surmountable
  • hypersurface
  • unsurmountable
Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₃ewp- →