Etymograph

English

to-

To- comes from Proto-Germanic *twiz- ‘apart, in two’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dwóh₁1‘two’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dwís2‘two-ways, in twain’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*twiz-2‘apart, in two’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*tō-2reconstructed
  5. Englishtodayto-2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *dwís
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English to-

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dwóh₁Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *dwís‘two’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dwísWiktionary, English to-‘two-ways, in twain’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*twiz-Wiktionary, English to-‘apart, in two’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*tō-Wiktionary, English to-reconstructed
  5. Englishtodayto-Wiktionary, English to-

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁ ‘two’

two, doubt, vice, twin, dual, duo, vicious, dubious, duet, twain, disparate, twig, deuce, bes, 21 more

through Proto-Indo-European *dwís ‘two-ways, in twain’

defeat, binary, diplomacy, bis, biceps, binocular, betwixt, 12 more

Today it means

prefix Parting: forming verbs that involve cleaving, breaking, or sundering.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “to-”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Proto-Indo-European *dwís. 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 *dwóh₁ / to-

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