Etymograph

English

at

At comes from Old English æt ‘at, near, by, toward’, from Proto-Germanic *at ‘at, near, to’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂éd ‘near, at’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂éd‘near, at’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*at‘at’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CEsame formreconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150æt‘at’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500at
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1838same form

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂éd‘near, at’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*at‘at’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CEsame formreconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150æt‘at’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500at
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1838same form

Earliest quotation: 1838, The Family Magazine:: “Lafayette was major-general in the American army at the…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *h₂éd ‘near, at’

ad, aim, appoint, await, attire, adage, accolade, amortization, affix, affine, après, alliteration, adulation, apportion, adobo, apres, 17 more

through Old English æt ‘at, near, by, toward’

et, eat

Today it means

prep In, near, or in the general vicinity of (a particular place).

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

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *h₂éd / at

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