English
long
Long comes from Old English lang, long ‘long, tall, lasting’, from Proto-Germanic *langaz ‘long’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *dlongʰos ‘long’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dlongʰos‘long’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*langaz‘long’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*lang‘long’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150lang‘long, tall, lasting’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500long
- Englishearliest quotation 1596same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dlongʰos‘long’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*langaz‘long’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*lang‘long’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150lang‘long, tall, lasting’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500long
- Englishearliest quotation 1596same form
Earliest quotation: 1596, Edmund Spenser, Book IIII, Canto IIII: “But Campbell thus did ſhut vp all in ieſt,…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *dlongʰos
lunge, elongate, elongation, 22 more
through Proto-Germanic *langaz
Another origin of long
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dlongʰosreconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*langazreconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*langreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150lang
- Old English, derivedc. 450–1150langeas longe‘long, for a long time’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500longe
- Englishtodaylong
Another origin of long
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*lengʷʰ-‘to be easy, be quick, jump, move around, vary’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*langōną‘to desire, long for’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*langōnreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150langian‘to long for, yearn after, grieve for, be pained, lengthen, grow longer, summon, belong’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500longen
- Englishtodaylong
Today it means
adj Having much distance in space from one end to the other.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *dlongʰos / long