English
that
That comes from Old English þæt ‘the, that’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *tód.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*tódreconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*þodreconstructed
- Proto-Germanic, derivedc. 500 BCE–200 CE*þatreconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CEsame formreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150þæt‘the’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500that
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1594same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*tódreconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*þodreconstructed
- Proto-Germanic, derivedc. 500 BCE–200 CE*þatreconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CEsame formreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150þæt‘the’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500that
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1594same form
Earliest quotation: c. 1594, William Shakespeare, The Comedie of Errors: “What are you mad, that you doe reaſon ſo?”
The story
Further from Proto-Indo-European *tód; compare Ancient Greek τό (tó), Sanskrit तद् (tád), Waigali ta, Lithuanian tai̇̃, Polish to.
Every English word from Proto-Indo-European *tód
Today it means
conj Introducing a clause that is the object of a verb, especially a reporting verb or verb expressing belief, knowledge, perception, etc.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *tód / that