Etymograph

English

there

There comes from Old English þēr, þǣr ‘there’, from Proto-Germanic *þar ‘at that place’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *tór ‘there’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*tór‘there’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*þar‘at that place, there’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*þār‘there’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150þēr‘there’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500there
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1387–1400same form

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*tór‘there’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*þar‘at that place, there’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*þār‘there’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150þēr‘there’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500there
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1387–1400same form

Earliest quotation: 1387–1400, Geoffrey Chaucer, (please specify the story via the 'title' parameter): “A knight there was, and that a worthy man…”

Every English word from Proto-Indo-European *tór

Today it means

adv In or at a place or location (stated, implied or otherwise indicated) that is perceived to be away from, or at a relative distance from, the speaker (compare here).

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

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *tór / there

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