Etymograph

English

afforce

Afforce comes from Old French afforcer, from Latin exfortiāre ‘strain, exert’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰerǵʰ- ‘to rise, high, hill’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰerǵʰ-‘to rise, high, hill’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*forktis‘strong, powerful’reconstructed
  3. Old Latinc. 700–75 BCEforctis
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfortis‘strong’
  5. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEexfortiāre‘strain, exert’
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400afforcer
  7. Englishtodayafforce

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰerǵʰ-‘to rise, high, hill’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*forktis‘strong, powerful’reconstructed
  3. Old Latinc. 700–75 BCEforctis
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfortis‘strong’
  5. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEexfortiāre‘strain, exert’
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400afforcer
  7. Englishtodayafforce

Formed from af- + force

Proto-Indo-European *h₂éd ‘near, at’

Proto-Italic *ad ‘toward, to, on, up to, for’

Latin ad ‘to, towards’

English af-

Proto-Indo-European *bʰerǵʰ- ‘to rise, high’

Latin fortis ‘strong’

Late Latin fortia

Old French force ‘strength’

Middle English force

English force

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *bʰerǵʰ- ‘to rise, high, hill’

berry, borough, burgess, bourgeois, barrow, burglar, brie, burgh, brahmin, burg, brahmana, bergh, bourguignon, broch, borgo, 13 more

through Proto-Italic *forktis ‘strong, powerful’

comforter, 6 more

through Old Latin forctis

fortress, fortitude, forte, fortification, fortify, fortis, 7 more

through Latin fortis ‘strong’

comfortable, comfort, fort, enforce, forcible, 13 more

Today it means

verb To reinforce (a team etc.) with extra people

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *bʰerǵʰ- / afforce

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