Etymograph

English

there

There comes from Old English þēr, þǣr ‘there’, from Proto-Germanic *þar ‘at that place’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *tór ‘there’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*tór1‘there’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*þar1‘at that place, there’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*þār1‘there’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150þēr1‘there’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500there1
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1387–1400there1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English there
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1387–1400, Geoffrey Chaucer, (please specify the story via the 'title' parameter): “A knight there was, and that a worthy man…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*tórWiktionary, English there‘there’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*þarWiktionary, English there‘at that place, there’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*þārWiktionary, English there‘there’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150þērWiktionary, English there‘there’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500thereWiktionary, English there
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1387–1400thereWiktionary, English there. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1387–1400, Geoffrey Chaucer, (please specify the story via the 'title' parameter): “A knight there was, and that a worthy man…”

Every English word from Proto-Indo-European *tór

Today it means

adv In or at a place or location (stated, implied or otherwise indicated) that is perceived to be away from, or at a relative distance from, the speaker (compare here).

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “there”. 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 *tór / there

Shirt and support for this word