Etymograph

English

with-

With- comes from Proto-West Germanic *wiþi- ‘counter-, anti-, gain-, with-’, and goes back to Proto-Germanic *wiþi-.

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*wiþi-1‘counter-, anti-, gain-, with-’reconstructed
  2. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*wiþi-1‘counter-, anti-, gain-, with-’reconstructed
  3. Englishtodaywith-1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English with-

Lineage

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*wiþi-Wiktionary, English with-‘counter-, anti-, gain-, with-’reconstructed
  2. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*wiþi-Wiktionary, English with-‘counter-, anti-, gain-, with-’reconstructed
  3. Englishtodaywith-Wiktionary, English with-

The story

Related also to English wither-, and Dutch weder- (‘back’), German wider- (‘against’), German wieder- (‘again’).

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Every English word from Proto-Germanic *wiþi-

Today it means

prefix Prefix meaning "against", "in opposition to".

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “with-”. 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-Germanic *wiþi- / with-

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