English
forhow
Forhow comes from Old English forhogian ‘to neglect, disregard, despise’, from hogian ‘to think, think about, consider’, and ultimately from Proto-Germanic *hugōną.
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*hugōną‘to have in mind, think’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*hugōnreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150hogian‘to think, think about, consider’
- Old English, derivedc. 450–1150forhogian‘to neglect, disregard, despise’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500forhowien
- Englishearliest quotation 1768forhow
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*hugōną‘to have in mind, think’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*hugōnreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150hogian‘to think, think about, consider’
- Old English, derivedc. 450–1150forhogian‘to neglect, disregard, despise’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500forhowien
- Englishearliest quotation 1768forhow
Earliest quotation: 1768, Ross: “Mind what this lass has undergane for you, Since…”
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 *kʷ- ‘interrogative root’
…
Proto-Germanic *hwō ‘through what, how’
Proto-West Germanic *hwō
Old English hū ‘how’
Middle English how
English how
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *ḱek- ‘to be able, capable’
through Old English hogian ‘to think, think about, consider’
Today it means
verb To despise; scorn.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Germanic *hugōną / forhow