English word origin

Etymology of fro

From Middle English fro, fra, from Old English fra (“from”), from Old Norse frá (“from”), from Proto-Germanic *fram (“from”), from Proto-Indo-European *promo- (“forth, forward”). Cognate with Scots frae (“fro, from”), Ic

2 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗

In this entry · 2 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗

prep

From.

adv

From; away; back or backward.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inherited-form mentionfroenm
Inherited-form mentionfraang
Derivation mentionfránon
Derivation mention*framgem-pro
Derivation mention*promo-ine-pro
Cognate mentionfraesco
Cognate mentionfráis

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "fro"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English fro"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "fra",
        "4": "",
        "5": "from"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English fra (“from”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "non",
        "3": "frá",
        "4": "",
        "5": "from"
      },
      "expansion": "Old Norse frá (“from”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*fram",
        "4": "",
        "5": "from"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *fram (“from”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*promo-",
        "4": "",
        "5": "forth, forward"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *promo- (“forth, forward”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sco",
        "2": "frae",
        "3": "",
        "4": "fro, from"
      },
      "expansion": "Scots frae (“fro, from”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "is",
        "2": "frá",
        "3": "",
        "4": "from"
      },
      "expansion": "Icelandic frá (“from”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "fro",
      "fro#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "fra",
      "fra#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "fra",
      "fra#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "frá",
      "frá#Old_Norse"
    ],
    [
      "*fram",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/fram"
    ],
    [
      "*promo-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/promo-"
    ],
    [
      "frae",
      "frae#Scots"
    ],
    [
      "frá",
      "frá#Icelandic"
    ],
    [
      "from",
      "from#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "prep",
      "glosses": [
        "From."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "obsolete"
      ],
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      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 229922
    },
    {
      "pos": "adv",
      "glosses": [
        "From; away; back or backward."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "not-comparable"
      ],
      "recordId": "aa9f52cb28ab931b20766e3078260c8d5e30dd0f2fb38f4660b2ce787d9c522c",
      "rawRecordSha256": "30641e6fbaf152367a3c05e48af9eb337e792ef069faa10f307e692b4432c834",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 229921
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  }
}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗

noun

Clipping of afro (hairstyle).

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Clipping of afro.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
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      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "afro"
      },
      "expansion": "Clipping of afro"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "afro",
      "afro#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "Clipping of afro (hairstyle)."
      ],
      "tags": [
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        "clipping",
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      ],
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Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for fro →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger

Machine-source provenance

Source SHA-256: 5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run: 73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID: w-ZnJv