English
forenoon
Forenoon comes from Proto-Indo-European *preh₂- ‘before, in front’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*preh₂-‘before, in front’root as named · steps between not traced
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500forenone
- Englishearliest quotation 1608forenoon
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*preh₂-‘before, in front’root as named · steps between not traced
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500forenone
- Englishearliest quotation 1608forenoon
Earliest quotation: 1608, William Shakespeare, Coriolanus: “You are ambitious for poor knaves' caps and legs;…”
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-Indo-European *h₁néwn̥ ‘nine’
…
Latin nōnus ‘ninth’
Latin nōna ‘ninth hour’
Old English nōn ‘the ninth hour’
Middle English noen
English noon
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *preh₂- ‘before, in front’
for, first, premier, prestigious, prairie, primer, forbid, preface, primate, prefix, primacy, precede, parasol, parley, preeminent, portobello, impregnate, prescient, 16 more
Today it means
noun Synonym of morning: the part of the day between sunrise and noon.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *preh₂- / forenoon