English
too
Too comes from Middle English to ‘also, in addition to’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *de ‘to, towards’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*de‘to’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*tōreconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CEsame formreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150tō‘furthermore’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500to‘also’
- Englishearliest quotation 1620too
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*de‘to’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*tōreconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CEsame formreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150tō‘furthermore’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500to‘also’
- Englishearliest quotation 1620too
Earliest quotation: 1620, Giovanni Bocaccio, The Decameron: “[…]purſued his vnneighbourly purpoſe in ſuch ſort: that hee…”
The story
The sense of "in addition, also" deriving from the original meaning of "apart, separately" (compare Old English prefix tō- (‘apart’)).
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *de ‘to, towards’
through Proto-Germanic *tō
through Old English tō ‘furthermore, also, besides’
through Middle English to ‘also, in addition to’
Today it means
adv Likewise.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *de / too