English
occur
Occur comes from Middle French occurrer, from Latin occurrō ‘to run to meet, befall’, from ob- + currō ‘to run’, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱers- ‘to run’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱers-‘to run’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱr̥s-é-tireconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*korsō‘to run’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcurrō‘run’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEoccurrō‘run to meet’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600occurrer‘to occur’
- Englishearliest quotation 1959occur
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱers-‘to run’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱr̥s-é-tireconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*korsō‘to run’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcurrō‘run’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEoccurrō‘run to meet’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600occurrer‘to occur’
- Englishearliest quotation 1959occur
Earliest quotation: 1959, Georgette Heyer: “And no use for anyone to tell Charles that…”
The story
Originally "meet (in argument)", borrowed from Middle French occurrer, from Latin occurrō (‘run to meet, run against, befall, present itself’) from prefix ob- (‘against’) + verb currō (‘run, hurry, move’).
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *ḱers- ‘to run’
career, charge, carry, rush, carrier, cargo, carriage, hurry, intercourse, chariot, carousel, recourse, corral, caricature, hurrah, recursive, cursory, carrack, 35 more
through Proto-Italic *korzō ‘to run’
corridor, discourse, courier, concurrent, recurrent, concourse, incursion, 19 more
through Latin currō ‘run, hurry, move’
course, current, currency, curriculum, precursor, corsair, incur, concur, cursor, courant, recursion, hussar, recur, succour, 24 more
Today it means
verb To happen or take place.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *ḱers- / occur