Language Of Confusion: Per-, Part VIII

Back again, somehow still looking at the Proto Indo European per-, forward. Now for all the words with F in them! That could be spooky for Halloween.

Okay, maybe not.
 
First is fore (also for, but I already etymologized that word). It comes from the Old English fore, which means… before. Not expecting any shocking revelations here. It’s from the Proto Germanic fura, which is then from the Proto Indo European prae-, from per-, just with an F instead of a P because that happens with a lot of words. Fore was a lot more common before it was replaced by before, which is from the Old English beforan, which also means before. The be- is actually from by and the rest from the Proto Germanic forana, which has fora as a verb form and is then from per-. Fore was before before.
 
Far comes from the Middle English fer, Old English feor, and Proto Germanic ferro, from per-. Then we have farther, which showed up in the late fourteenth century, and it’s actually from further. Further was furðer/forðer in Old English, which is either forth + -er or fore + -ther. Fore we just looked at. Forth is from the Old English forð, which is also just from fore. Not a big leap here.
 
And you know what other word is closely related? Afford. It comes from the Middle English aforth and Old English geforðian, to put forth, and yes, the ge- really turned into an a- here and means on or onto. The rest is from forð, just like forth. Afford is to forth onto. No, I don’t get it either. Apparently, after it started as “to put forth” in Old English, it started to mean accomplish, which then in English started to mean to have enough money for something. That… doesn’t really clarify things.
 
Sources
Online Etymology Dictionary
University of Texas at Austin Linguistic Research Center
University of Texas at San Antonio’s page on Proto Indo European language
University of Texas at Arlington
Tony Jebson’s page on the Origins of Old English
Old English-English Dictionary