come
/kʌm/
verb
Origin
Proto-Germanic
*kwem- — to come
Overview
Meaning Now
- To move or travel towards or into a place thought of as near or familiar to the speaker.
- To arrive or reach a certain state, position, or point in time.
Literal older meaning
to move towards
Language path
Proto-Indo-European → Proto-Germanic → Old English → Middle English → English
Earliest form
cuman
Earliest period
Old English period
Journey
The verb descends from a core Indo-European root meaning 'to go' or 'to come', which is also the ancestor of the Latin 'venire' (via a different nasal infix structure) and the Greek 'bainein'.
Evolution
- Proto-Indo-European
*gʷem-
“to go, come”
- Proto-Germanic
*kweman
“to come”
- Old English
cuman
“to come”
- Middle English
comen
“to come”
Connections
Word parts
come
root
to move towards
Related across languages
German
kommen
to come
Dutch
komen
to come
Gothic
qiman
to come
Related words
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Related to come
External references use DefinedTerm semantics.