fourfour

Four comes from Old English fēower ‘four’, from Proto-Germanic *fedwōr, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kʷetwṓr ‘four’.

1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kʷetwṓr¹‘four’reconstructed
2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*fedwōr¹‘four’reconstructed
3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*feuwar¹‘four’reconstructed
4. Old Englishc. 450–1150fēower¹‘four’
5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500four¹
6. Englishearliest quotation 1828four¹

1. ¹ Wiktionary, English four
2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1828, Pigot and Co.'s National Commercial Dire, Comprising a Directory of the Merchants: “Letters to Sheffield are despatched every morning at six,…”.