Etymograph

English

on

On comes from Middle English on ‘on, in’, from Old English on ‘on, in, at, among’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂en- ‘on, onto’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂en-1‘on’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*an1‘on’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*ana1reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150on1‘on’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500on1‘on’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1599on1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English on
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1599, The Tragedie of Iulius Cæsar: “Be not jealous on me.”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂en-Wiktionary, English on‘on’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*anWiktionary, English on‘on’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*anaWiktionary, English onreconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150onWiktionary, English on‘on’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500onWiktionary, English on‘on’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1599onWiktionary, English on. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1599, The Tragedie of Iulius Cæsar: “Be not jealous on me.”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *h₂en- ‘on, onto’

end, along, ana, anterior, asunder, 7 more

through Old English on ‘on, in, at, among’

upon, abed, 2 more

Another origin of on

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḗnu‘without’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*ēnu‘without’reconstructed
  3. Old Norsec. 800–1350ón‘without’
  4. Englishtodayon

Unlikely to be related to Ancient Greek ἄνευ (áneu, “without”), which is likely akin to Proto-Germanic *sundraz instead (whence sunder).

Another origin of on

  1. Japanesemodern音読みon'yomi‘the reading of a Japanese word written in kanji that is roughly based on the…’literally ‘sound reading’
  2. Englishtodayon

Today it means

adj In the state of being active, functioning or operating.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “on”. 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 *h₂en- / on

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