Etymograph

English

open

Open comes from Old English open, from Proto-Germanic *upanaz ‘open’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *upo ‘up from under, over’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*upo1‘up from under, over’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*upanaz1‘open’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*opan1reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150open1‘open’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500open1
  6. Englishearliest quotation c. 1596–1599open1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English open
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1596–1599, William Shakespeare, The Second Part of Henry the Fourth, […]. Epilogue.: “The service that I truly did his life, /…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*upoWiktionary, English open‘up from under, over’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*upanazWiktionary, English open‘open’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*opanWiktionary, English openreconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150openWiktionary, English open‘open’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500openWiktionary, English open
  6. Englishearliest quotation c. 1596–1599openWiktionary, English open. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1596–1599, William Shakespeare, The Second Part of Henry the Fourth, […]. Epilogue.: “The service that I truly did his life, /…”

Linked words

through Old English open

ope

Today it means

adj Able to have something pass through or along it.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “open”. 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 *upo / open

Shirt and support for this word