Etymograph

English

behind

Behind comes from Middle English behinde, from Old English behindan ‘on the back side of, behind’, from Proto-West Germanic *bihindan (*bi- + *hindō ‘the hind side’).

  1. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*bihindan1‘on the back side of, behind’reconstructed
  2. Old Englishc. 450–1150behindan1‘on the back side of, behind’
  3. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500behinde1
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1610–1611behind1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English behind
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1610–1611, William Shakespeare, The Tempest: “Yea, all which it inherit, shall dissolve, And, like…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*bihindanWiktionary, English behind‘on the back side of, behind’reconstructed
  2. Old Englishc. 450–1150behindanWiktionary, English behind‘on the back side of, behind’
  3. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500behindeWiktionary, English behind
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1610–1611behindWiktionary, English behind. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1610–1611, William Shakespeare, The Tempest: “Yea, all which it inherit, shall dissolve, And, like…”

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Today it means

prep At or to the back or far side of.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “behind”. 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-West Germanic *bihindan / behind