Etymograph

English

forefinger

Forefinger comes from Middle English forefynger ‘the index finger’, and goes back to Proto-Germanic *fingraz.

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*fingraz‘finger’reconstructed
  2. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*fingr‘finger’reconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150finger
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500fynger‘finger’
  5. Middle English, derivedc. 1150–1500forefynger‘the index finger’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1866forefinger

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Earlier history uncertain.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*fingraz‘finger’reconstructed
  2. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*fingr‘finger’reconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150finger
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500fynger‘finger’
  5. Middle English, derivedc. 1150–1500forefynger‘the index finger’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1866forefinger

Earliest quotation: 1866, Charles Dickens: “He touched me on the arm with his forefinger…”

Formed from fore- + finger

Proto-Indo-European *per- ‘before, formerly’

Proto-Germanic *fura- ‘before, in front of, for’

Proto-West Germanic *forē- ‘before, in front of, fore-, pre-’

English fore-

Proto-Germanic *fingraz ‘finger’

Proto-West Germanic *fingr

Old English finger

Middle English fynger ‘a finger’

English finger

Every English word from Proto-Germanic *fingraz

Today it means

noun The index finger: the first finger next to the thumb.

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

Etymograph / Proto-Germanic *fingraz / forefinger

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