Etymograph

English

endlong

Endlong comes from Old English andlang ‘along’, from lang ‘long’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *dlongʰos.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dlongʰos‘long’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*langaz‘long’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*lang‘long’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150lang‘long’
  5. Old English, derivedc. 450–1150andlang‘along’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1590endlong

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dlongʰos‘long’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*langaz‘long’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*lang‘long’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150lang‘long’
  5. Old English, derivedc. 450–1150andlang‘along’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1590endlong

Earliest quotation: 1590, Edmund Spenser, Book III, Canto X: “The rest he leaves in ground: So takes in…”

The story

From Old English andlang ( > along), re-formed by popular etymology in Middle English as end + long; partly from Old Norse cognate endlangr.folk etymology The source marks this as unproven or a folk etymology. Quoted, not asserted.

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *dlongʰos ‘long’

longitudinal, longitude, lunge, oblong, elongate, elongation, longus, longe, 15 more

through Proto-Germanic *langaz ‘long’

length, linger, 5 more

through Old English lang ‘long’

longer, 1 more

through Old English andlang ‘along’

along, 1 more

Today it means

prep Along (as opposed to across), from end to end of.

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

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *dlongʰos / endlong

Shirt and support for this word