Etymograph

English

forthlead

Forthlead comes from Old English forþlǣdan ‘to lead or bring forth, produce’, from Proto-Germanic *līþaną ‘to go, depart, travel’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *leyt-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*leyt-1‘to leave, depart, die’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*līþaną1‘to go, depart, travel’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*laidijaną1‘to cause to go, lead’reconstructedcausative of *līþaną
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*laidijan1‘to cause to go, lead’reconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150lǣdan2‘to lead’
  6. Old Englishc. 450–1150forþlǣdan3‘to lead or bring forth, produce’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500forthleden3
  8. Englishtodayforthlead3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Old English lædan
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Old English forþlædan
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English forthlead

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*leyt-Wiktionary, Old English lædan‘to leave, depart, die’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*līþanąWiktionary, Old English lædan‘to go, depart, travel’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*laidijanąWiktionary, Old English lædan‘to cause to go, lead’reconstructedcausative of *līþaną
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*laidijanWiktionary, Old English lædan‘to cause to go, lead’reconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150lǣdanWiktionary, Old English forþlædan‘to lead’
  6. Old Englishc. 450–1150forþlǣdanWiktionary, English forthlead‘to lead or bring forth, produce’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500forthledenWiktionary, English forthlead
  8. EnglishtodayforthleadWiktionary, English forthlead

Formed from forth- + lead

Proto-Indo-European *prto-

Proto-Germanic *furþą ‘forth, forward’

Proto-West Germanic *forþ ‘forward’

English forth-

Proto-Indo-European *leyt- ‘to leave, die’

…

Proto-Germanic *laidijaną ‘to cause one to go, lead’

Proto-West Germanic *laidijan

Old English lǣdan ‘to lead’

Middle English leden

English lead

Linked words

through Proto-Germanic *laidijaną ‘to cause to go, lead’

leading, 4 more

Today it means

verb To lead forth.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “forthlead”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Old English lædan, Old English forþlædan. 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 *leyt- / forthlead

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