English
as
As comes from Old English eallswā ‘just so’, from Proto-West Germanic *allswā ‘completely, totally, or fully so’, and ultimately from Proto-Germanic *allaz ‘all’.
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*allaz‘all’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*allreconstructed
- Proto-West Germanic, derivedc. 200–500 CE*allswā‘completely’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150eallswā‘just so’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500as
- Englishearliest quotation 1526as
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*allaz‘all’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*allreconstructed
- Proto-West Germanic, derivedc. 200–500 CE*allswā‘completely’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150eallswā‘just so’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500as
- Englishearliest quotation 1526as
Earliest quotation: 1526, [William Tyndale, The Newe Testamẽt […] (Tyndale Bible): “And sodenly there cam a sounde from heven as…”.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *h₂el- ‘all’
old, else, adult, el, ultimate, element, alien, ultra, alternate, elder, alter, ellen, altitude, alumni, qualification, outrage, alt, altar, ou, alpine, adolescent, abolish, alto, alum, alibi, retaliate, alimony, alp, alias, proletariat, altruism, auld, ulterior, parallax, coalesce, exalt, foetal, althea, altimeter, aad, 66 more
through Proto-West Germanic *all
through Old English eallswā ‘just so’
through Middle English as
Another origin of as
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEas‘as, a Roman coin originally made of a Roman pound of bronze but later minted from 2, 1’
- Englishtodayas
Today it means
adv To such an extent or degree; to the same extent or degree.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Germanic *allaz / as