Etymograph

English

enter

Enter comes from Old French entrer, from Latin intrō ‘to go into’, from intrā ‘inside’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁en ‘in’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁en1‘in’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁énteros2‘inside, within’reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEintrā3‘within, inside’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEintrō3‘to enter, go into’
  5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400entrer3‘to enter’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500entren3
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1555enter3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *h₁énteros
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin intra
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English enter
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1555, John Proctor, The historie of Wyates rebellion: “[…]you can fynde in youre heartes to assaulte her…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁enWiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *h₁énteros‘in’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁énterosWiktionary, Latin intra‘inside, within’reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEintrāWiktionary, English enter‘within, inside’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEintrōWiktionary, English enter‘to enter, go into’
  5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400entrerWiktionary, English enter‘to enter’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500entrenWiktionary, English enter
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1555enterWiktionary, English enter. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1555, John Proctor, The historie of Wyates rebellion: “[…]you can fynde in youre heartes to assaulte her…”

The story

Has been spelled as "enter" for several centuries even in the United Kingdom, although British English and the English of many Commonwealth Countries.

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Word family

English words that share an ancestor with enter, grouped by the ancestor they share, most familiar first.

through Proto-Indo-European *terh₂- ‘to cross over, pass through, overcome’

  • through ← thrugh ← þurh ← *þurhw ← *tr̥h₂kʷe
  • trans ← *trānts ← *tr̥h₂-n̥ts
  • thorough ← thoruȝ ← þuruh ← þurh ← *þurhw
  • avatar ← अवतार ← तार ← तॄ
  • tram ← traam ← trame ← *drum ← *térmn̥
  • tranquillity ← tranquillite ← tranquillite ← tranquillitas ← tranquillus
  • tardy ← tardif ← tardif ← tardīvus ← tardus
  • torus ← *torh₂-os
  • sarai ← سرای ← slʾd ← *srāda ← *thrāya

through Proto-Indo-European *h₁en ‘in’

  • inner ← innera ← inne

through Proto-Indo-European *h₁énteros ‘inner, what is inside’

44 more relatives in the full family tree

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Today it means

verb To go or come into an enclosed or partially enclosed space.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “enter”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Indo-European *h₁énteros, Latin intra. 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 *h₁en / enter