Etymograph

English

fond

Fond comes from Middle English fonnen ‘to be foolish, be simple, dote’.

  1. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500fonnen1‘to be foolish, be simple, dote’
  2. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500fond1past participle of fonnen
  3. Englishearliest quotation c. 1595–1596fond1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English fond
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1595–1596, William Shakespeare, A Midsommer Nights Dreame: “more fond on her than she upon her love”.

Lineage

  1. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500fonnenWiktionary, English fond‘to be foolish, be simple, dote’
  2. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500fondWiktionary, English fondpast participle of fonnen
  3. Englishearliest quotation c. 1595–1596fondWiktionary, English fond. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1595–1596, William Shakespeare, A Midsommer Nights Dreame: “more fond on her than she upon her love”

Every English word from Middle English fonnen

Another origin of fond

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰewbʰ-‘to sink in’uncertain
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰudʰmḗn‘bottom’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰudʰnósreconstructed
  4. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰundʰósreconstructed
  5. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*fundosreconstructed
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfundus‘bottom’
  7. Englishtodayfond

Today it means

adj Having a liking or affection (for).

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “fond”. 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 / Middle English fonnen / fond

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