English

against

/əˈɡɛnst/
In a contrary direction to.

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    Origin

    Formed from Middle English ayenes, agenes, againes (“in opposition to”), a southern variant of agen, or directly from again, either way with adverbial genitive singular ending -es; the parasitic -t was added circa 1350, probably by confusion with the superlative ending -est. By surface analysis, again + -st (excrescent ending).

    Cognate with Saterland Frisian juun (“against”), West Frisian tsjin (“against”), Dutch tegen (“against”), German Low German gegen (“against”), German gegen (“against”), Icelandic gegn (“against”).

    From Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.

    Lineage

    • inheritedMiddle Englishayenes
      • derivedOld Englishonġēan
        • inheritedProto-West Germanic*in gagin
          • inheritedProto-Germanic*in gagin

    Related: Saterland Frisian juun, West Frisian tsjin, Dutch tegen, German Low German gegen, German gegen, Icelandic gegn

    Sources