English
for
For comes from Old English for ‘for, because of’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *preh₂- ‘before, in front’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*preh₂-1‘before’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pr̥h₂-i1reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*furi1reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*furi1reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150for1‘for’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500for1
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1591–1592for1
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English for
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1591–1592, William Shakespeare, The Third Part of Henry the Sixt, […]: “with fiery eyes sparkling for very wrath”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*preh₂-Wiktionary, English for‘before’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pr̥h₂-iWiktionary, English forreconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*furiWiktionary, English forreconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*furiWiktionary, English forreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150forWiktionary, English for‘for’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500forWiktionary, English for
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1591–1592forWiktionary, English for. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1591–1592, William Shakespeare, The Third Part of Henry the Sixt, […]: “with fiery eyes sparkling for very wrath”
The story
Inherited from Middle English for, from Old English for (‘for, because of’), from Proto-Germanic *furi (‘for’), from Proto-Indo-European *preh₂-.
Word family
English words that share an ancestor with for, grouped by the ancestor they share, most familiar first.
through Proto-Indo-European *preh₂- ‘before, in front’
- first ← fyrest ← *furist ← *furistaz ← *furai
- premier ← prīmārius ← prīmus ← *prīzmos ← *pri
- prestigious ← praestigiosus ← praestringō ← *prai- ← *prai
- prairie ← praerie ← *prataria ← prātum
- primer ← prīmārius ← prīmus ← *prīzmos ← *pri
- preface ← prefātia ← praefātiō ← praefor ← *prai-
- prefix ← praefīxum ← praefīxus ← *prai- ← *prai
- primate ← prīmās ← prīmus ← *prīzmos ← *pri
- primacy ← primacie ← primatia ← primas ← prīmus
- precede ← précéder ← praecēdō ← *prai- ← *prai
- preeminent ← praeēminēns ← praeēmineō ← *prai- ← *prai
- prescient ← praesciēns ← praesciō ← *prai- ← *prai
22 more relatives in the full family tree
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Today it means
conj Because.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “for”. 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.