Where does “for-” come from?
for- (Old Norse) comes from Middle Low German vor-, from Old Saxon far-, from Proto-Germanic fra-, from Proto-Indo-European pro-, from Proto-Indo-European por-, from Proto-Indo-European per-, from Proto-Indo-European pr̥tós — passed , crossed.
for- (Old Norse): for; fore-
Ancestry of “for-”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle Low German | vor- | modyfying verb-prefix, denoting amongst other... |
| 2 | Old Saxon | far- | forming verbs from verbs with various senses... |
| 3 | Proto-Germanic | fra- | off, away; completely, fully, up |
| 4 | Proto-Indo-European | pro- | toward, forward |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | por- | to give birth; forward, through; going, passage |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | per- | before, in front; first; to go through |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | pr̥tós | passed , crossed |
Words derived from “for-”