English

foretouch

Foretouch comes from Middle English *foretouchen.

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

Earliest quotation: 1863, Wiseman Review: “Is it progress at all, or is it retrogression,…”

Formed from fore- + touch

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 *dewk- ‘to draw, pull’

…

Frankish *tukkōn ‘to knock, strike, touch’

Vulgar Latin *tuccō ‘to knock, strike’

Old French tochier ‘to touch’

Middle English touchen ‘to touch’

English touch

Every English word from Middle English *foretouchen

verb To touch beforehand; touch upon in advance.

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