English
answer
Answer comes from Old English andswaru ‘answer’, from and- ‘against’ + swaru ‘affirmation’, originally a sworn rebuttal.
- Old Englishc. 450–1150andswaru‘answer’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500answere‘a response to a query’
- Englishearliest quotation 1977answer
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Old Englishc. 450–1150andswaru‘answer’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500answere‘a response to a query’
- Englishearliest quotation 1977answer
Earliest quotation: 1977, England's Bryant: “Anti-pornography crusader Mary Whitehouse, who successfully brought London's Gay…”
The story
The cognates suggest the existence of Proto-Germanic *andaswarō (‘a reply to a question’).
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *swer- ‘to ache’
sworn, swarm, swearing, 18 more
through Proto-Indo-European *h₂ent- ‘front, forehead’
and, end, ancient, endless, antique, ante, ender, 11 more
through Old English swaru ‘affirmation’
Another origin of answer
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*andaswarjaną‘to answer’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150andswerian‘to answer’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500answeren‘to answer or respond’
- Englishtodayanswer
Today it means
noun A response or reply; something said or done in reaction to a statement or question.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Old English andswaru / answer