Etymograph

English

from

From comes from Old English from ‘forward, from’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *pro-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pro-1‘forth’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*fram2‘forward’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*fram2reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150from2‘forward’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500from2
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1879from2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *fram
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English from
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1879, Richard Jefferies, London: Smith: “Orion hit a rabbit once; but though sore wounded…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pro-Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *fram‘forth’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*framWiktionary, English from‘forward’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*framWiktionary, English fromreconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150fromWiktionary, English from‘forward’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500fromWiktionary, English from
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1879fromWiktionary, English from. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1879, Richard Jefferies, London: Smith: “Orion hit a rabbit once; but though sore wounded…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *pro- ‘forth, forward’

purchase, approach, fret, protrude, 7 more

through Proto-Germanic *fram ‘forward, from, away’

veneer, fro

Today it means

prep Used to indicate source or provenance.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “from”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Proto-Germanic *fram. 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 *pro- / from

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