English

ago

/əˈɡəʊ/
Before now, before the present time

    Etymology graph

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    Origin

    From Middle English ago, agon (“passed”), past participle of agon (“to depart, escape, pass”), from Old English āgān (“to go away, pass away, go forth, come to pass”), from Proto-Germanic *uz- (“out”), *gāną (“to go”), equivalent to a- + gone, and by surface analysis, a- + go. Cognate with German ergehen (“to come to pass, fare, go forth”). Compare also Old Saxon āgangan (“to go or pass by”), Gothic 𐌿𐍃𐌲𐌰𐌲𐌲𐌰𐌽 (usgaggan, “to go forth”).

    From Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.

    Lineage

    • inheritedMiddle Englishagon
      • inheritedOld Englishāgān “to own, possess”
        • inheritedProto-West Germanic*uʀgān
          • partProto-West Germanic*uʀ-
            • inheritedProto-Germanic*uz- “out-”
              • inheritedProto-Indo-European*uds- “up, out”
              • inheritedProto-Indo-European*úd “out, outward”
              • inheritedProto-Indo-European*ud-s-
              • derivedProto-Germanic*rīsaną “to rise”
              • inheritedProto-Indo-European*h₂ew
          • partProto-West Germanic*gān
            • inheritedProto-Germanic*gāną
              • derivedProto-Indo-European*ǵʰeh₁-

    Related: German ergehen, Old Saxon āgangan, Gothic 𐌿𐍃𐌲𐌰𐌲𐌲𐌰𐌽

    Sources