English

in-

in, into, towards, within.

    Etymology graph

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    Origin

    Etymology 1

    PIE word

    *h₁én

    From Middle English in-, from Old English in- (“in, into”, prefix), from Proto-Germanic *in, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁én. More at in.

    Etymology 2

    From Middle English in-, borrowed (in words of Latinate origin) from Latin in-, from Latin in, from Proto-Indo-European *en (cognate to Germanic in-, above). Often borrowed from French in- (e.g. incise, incite, incline, indication), or as French en-, originally from Latin in.

    Etymology 3

    PIE word

    *né

    From Middle English in-, borrowed (in words of latinate origin) from Latin in- (“not”). Sometimes the Latin word has passed through French before reaching English (e.g. incapable, incertainty, inclement, incompatible). Doublet of un-.

    From Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.

    Lineage

    • inheritedMiddle Englishin-
      • inheritedOld Englishin- “in, into”
        • inheritedProto-Germanic*in
          • inheritedProto-Indo-European*h₁én “in”
            • derived (ultimately)Proto-Indo-European*h₁ey- “to go”
      • derivedLatinin- “in, at, on; into”
        • derivedLatinin “in”
          • derivedProto-Indo-European*en

    Related: English un- (doublet)

    Words built on it: the, in-between, in-game, in-line, in-class

    Sources