English
for
For comes from Old English for ‘for, because of’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *preh₂- ‘before, in front’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*preh₂-‘before’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*pr̥h₂-ireconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*furireconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CEsame formreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150for‘for’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500same form
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1591–1592same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*preh₂-‘before’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*pr̥h₂-ireconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*furireconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CEsame formreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150for‘for’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500same form
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1591–1592same form
Earliest quotation: c. 1591–1592, William Shakespeare, The Third Part of Henry the Sixt, […]: “with fiery eyes sparkling for very wrath”.
The story
Inherited from Middle English for, from Old English for (‘for, because of’), from Proto-Germanic *furi (‘for’), from Proto-Indo-European *preh₂-.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *preh₂- ‘before, in front’
first, premier, prestigious, prairie, primer, preface, prefix, primate, primacy, precede, preeminent, prescient, parasol, parley, impregnate, portobello, 17 more
through Proto-Germanic *furi
Today it means
conj Because.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.