English

how-to

From how + to.

A compound of how + to

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

Proto-Indo-European *de ‘to’

…

Proto-Germanic *tō

Proto-West Germanic *tō

Old English tō ‘to’

Middle English to

English to

Today it means

adj That gives advice or instruction on a particular topic.

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