English
fordo
Fordo comes from Middle English fordon ‘to kill’, and goes back to Proto-West Germanic *fradōn ‘to ruin, destroy’.
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*fradōn‘to ruin, destroy’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150fordōn‘to undo, bring to naught, ruin, destroy, abolish, kill, corrupt, seduce, defile’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500fordon‘to kill’
- Englishearliest quotation 1485fordo
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*fradōn‘to ruin, destroy’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150fordōn‘to undo, bring to naught, ruin, destroy, abolish, kill, corrupt, seduce, defile’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500fordon‘to kill’
- Englishearliest quotation 1485fordo
Earliest quotation: 1485, Sir Thomas Malory: “And that penaūce god hath ordeyned yow for that…”
Proto-Indo-European *pro- ‘before, in front of’
Proto-Germanic *fra- ‘off, away’
Proto-West Germanic *fra- ‘forms verbs with the sense of "away from" or…’
English for-
Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁- ‘to put’
Proto-Germanic *dōną ‘to do’
Proto-West Germanic *dōn ‘to do’
Old English dōn ‘to do’
Middle English don
English do
Every English word from Proto-West Germanic *fradōn
Today it means
verb To kill, destroy.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-West Germanic *fradōn / fordo