*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of with-

From Middle English with-, from Old English wiþ- (“against, away”, prefix), from Proto-West Germanic *wiþi-, from Proto-Germanic *wiþi- (“counter-, anti-, gain-, with-”), related to Old English wiþ (“with, by, near, agai

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In this entry · 1 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.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗
prefix

Prefix meaning "against", "in opposition to". · Prefix meaning "back", "back around", "in reverse", "in return". · Prefix meaning "off", "out", "away", "from". · Prefix meaning "with", "along with", "together (with)".

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

From Middle English with-, from Old English wiþ- (“against, away”, prefix), from Proto-West Germanic *wiþi-, from Proto-Germanic *wiþi- (“counter-, anti-, gain-, with-”), related to Old English wiþ (“with, by, near, against, beside, at, through, for, in return, opposite, towards, to”, preposition). Cognate with Old Frisian with-, Old Saxon with-, Danish ved-, Swedish vid-, Faroese við-, Icelandic við-. Related also to English wither-, and Dutch weder- (“back”), German wider- (“against”), German wieder- (“again”). More at with.

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

  • Inherited-form mentionwith-enm
  • Inherited-form mentionwiþ-ang · against, away
  • Inherited-form mention*wiþi-gmw-pro
  • Inherited-form mention*wiþi-gem-pro · counter-, anti-, gain-, with-
  • Cognate mentionwiþang · with, by, near, against, beside, at, through, for, in return, opposite, towards, to
  • Cognate mentionwith-ofs
  • Cognate mentionwith-osx
  • Cognate mentionved-da
  • Cognate mentionvid-sv
  • Cognate mentionvið-fo
  • Cognate mentionvið-is
  • Cognate mentionweder-nl
  • Cognate mentionwider-de
  • Cognate mentionwieder-de
Inspect preserved source fields

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

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "with-"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English with-"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "wiþ-",
        "t": "against, away",
        "pos": "prefix"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English wiþ- (“against, away”, prefix)"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gmw-pro",
        "3": "*wiþi-"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-West Germanic *wiþi-"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*wiþi-",
        "t": "counter-, anti-, gain-, with-"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *wiþi- (“counter-, anti-, gain-, with-”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "ang",
        "2": "wiþ",
        "t": "with, by, near, against, beside, at, through, for, in return, opposite, towards, to",
        "pos": "preposition"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English wiþ (“with, by, near, against, beside, at, through, for, in return, opposite, towards, to”, preposition)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "ofs",
        "2": "with-"
      },
      "expansion": "Old Frisian with-"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "osx",
        "2": "with-"
      },
      "expansion": "Old Saxon with-"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "da",
        "2": "ved-"
      },
      "expansion": "Danish ved-"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sv",
        "2": "vid-"
      },
      "expansion": "Swedish vid-"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "fo",
        "2": "við-"
      },
      "expansion": "Faroese við-"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "is",
        "2": "við-"
      },
      "expansion": "Icelandic við-"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nl",
        "2": "weder-",
        "3": "",
        "4": "back"
      },
      "expansion": "Dutch weder- (“back”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "wider-",
        "3": "",
        "4": "against"
      },
      "expansion": "German wider- (“against”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "wieder-",
        "3": "",
        "4": "again"
      },
      "expansion": "German wieder- (“again”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "with-",
      "with-#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "wiþ-",
      "wiþ-#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "*wiþi-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/wiþi-"
    ],
    [
      "*wiþi-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/wiþi-"
    ],
    [
      "wiþ",
      "wiþ#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "with-",
      "with-#Old_Frisian"
    ],
    [
      "with-",
      "with-#Old_Saxon"
    ],
    [
      "ved-",
      "ved-#Danish"
    ],
    [
      "vid-",
      "vid-#Swedish"
    ],
    [
      "við-",
      "við-#Faroese"
    ],
    [
      "við-",
      "við-#Icelandic"
    ],
    [
      "wither-",
      "wither-#English"
    ],
    [
      "weder-",
      "weder-#Dutch"
    ],
    [
      "wider-",
      "wider-#German"
    ],
    [
      "wieder-",
      "wieder-#German"
    ],
    [
      "with",
      "with#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "prefix",
      "glosses": [
        "Prefix meaning \"against\", \"in opposition to\".",
        "Prefix meaning \"back\", \"back around\", \"in reverse\", \"in return\".",
        "Prefix meaning \"off\", \"out\", \"away\", \"from\".",
        "Prefix meaning \"with\", \"along with\", \"together (with)\"."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "morpheme"
      ],
      "recordId": "4af8d0681ce568522dcb41652bf13095185baf423c750a109b69df179a9e2057",
      "rawRecordSha256": "490f550cd3c3d26063312ecd4bed2226edf5df6f5919bfc61f9d55cdf1c9beaa",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 1956271
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

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 with- →

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-d2l0aC0