Etymograph

English

at

At comes from Old English æt ‘at, near, by, toward’, from Proto-Germanic *at ‘at, near, to’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂éd ‘near, at’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂éd1‘near, at’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*at1‘at’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*at1reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150æt1‘at’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500at1
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1838at1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English at
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1838, The Family Magazine:: “Lafayette was major-general in the American army at the…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂édWiktionary, English at‘near, at’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*atWiktionary, English at‘at’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*atWiktionary, English atreconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150ætWiktionary, English at‘at’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500atWiktionary, English at
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1838atWiktionary, English at. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1838, The Family Magazine:: “Lafayette was major-general in the American army at the…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *h₂éd ‘near, at’

ad, aim, appoint, await, attire, adage, accolade, amortization, affix, affine, alliteration, adulation, apportion, adobo, apres, 17 more

through Old English æt ‘at, near, by, toward’

et, eat

Today it means

prep In, near, or in the general vicinity of (a particular place).

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “at”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *h₂éd / at

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