English
across
Across comes from Middle English acros, earlier a-croiz, from Anglo-Norman an ‘in, on’ + Old French croiz ‘cross’, ultimately from Latin crux.
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kruks /*krukisreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcrux‘cross’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400croiz‘in the form of a cross’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500a-croiz
- Middle English, derivedc. 1150–1500acros‘in the shape of a cross’
- Englishearliest quotation 1897across
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kruks /*krukisreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcrux‘cross’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400croiz‘in the form of a cross’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500a-croiz
- Middle English, derivedc. 1150–1500acros‘in the shape of a cross’
- Englishearliest quotation 1897across
Earliest quotation: 1897, Winston Churchill: “I corralled the judge, and we started off across…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- ‘to cut off, sever’
short, share, card, cancer, score, shirt, screen, circle, circuit, curve, scare, crucial, circus, circulation, skirt, carnival, curb, scar, cancellation, shrine, circa, scrutiny, shear, crest, scorpion, incarceration, shred, carnage, coronary, raffle, corona, circulate, carcinoma, scorn, shrewd, shard, carnal, cirque, corolla, riddance, 118 more
through Latin crux ‘wooden frame on which criminals were…’
cruise, crucible, excruciating, crouch, crux, cruciform, 8 more
through Old French crois ‘cross’
Today it means
prep To, toward, or from the far side of (something that lies between two points of interest).
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Italic *kruks /*krukis / across