English
foretoken
Foretoken comes from Old English foretācen ‘foretoken, presage, prognostic, prodigy, sign,…’, from Proto-Germanic *taikną ‘indicator, indication’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *deyḱ-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*deyḱ-‘to show, indicate, point out, declare’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*taikną‘indicator, indication’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*taikn‘sign, token, symbol’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150tācnas tācen‘sign’
- Old English, derivedc. 450–1150foretācenas foretācn‘foretoken, presage, prognostic, prodigy, sign, wonder’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500foretokne
- Englishearliest quotation 1590foretoken
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*deyḱ-‘to show, indicate, point out, declare’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*taikną‘indicator, indication’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*taikn‘sign, token, symbol’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150tācnas tācen‘sign’
- Old English, derivedc. 450–1150foretācenas foretācn‘foretoken, presage, prognostic, prodigy, sign, wonder’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500foretokne
- Englishearliest quotation 1590foretoken
Earliest quotation: 1590, Philip Sidney, The Countess of Pembroke's Arcadia: “Therefore know you Gentlemen (to whom from my harte…”
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 *deyḱ- ‘to show, instruct, teach’
Proto-Germanic *taikną ‘indicator, symbol, sign’
Proto-West Germanic *taikn ‘sign, token, symbol’
Old English tācn ‘sign, symbol’
Middle English token
English token
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *deyḱ- ‘to show, indicate, point out, declare’
teach, index, indicate, indication, dictionary, predict, toe, digit, addict, indicator, paradigm, dictate, indicative, syndicate, contradiction, contradict, dictator, ditto, diction, predicate, ditty, dictum, interdict, syndicalism, dict, tache, indicia, 44 more
Another origin of foretoken
- Old Englishc. 450–1150foretācnian‘to foreshow’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500*foretoknenreconstructed
- Englishtodayforetoken
Today it means
noun A prognostic; a premonitory sign; warning or presentiment.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *deyḱ- / foretoken