for

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English for, inherited from Old English for (“before; in the presence of; on account of; instead of”),^[2][3][4] from Proto-Germanic *furi,^[1] which Barnhart and Orel give as *fura.^[3][5] Hoad and the OED take it as a reduced form of the Germanic preposition meaning "before", the source of fore.^[4][6][7] It is cognate with Old Frisian for, Old Saxon for, Middle Dutch vore, Dutch voor, Old High German fora (“before”) and furi (“for”), German für and vor, Old Norse fyrir and Gothic 𐍆𐌰𐌿𐍂 (faur).^[2][3][4] Outside Germanic it is related to Latin per (“through”), prō (“before, for”) and prae (“before”), Ancient Greek πρό (pró, “before”), Old Irish ar (“before”) and Hittite parā (“forth”),^[3][8] from Proto-Indo-European *per- (“forward, before”).^[2][9][3] The conjunction, "because", was shortened from Old English phrases such as for þon þe (“for the reason that”).^[2][3][4][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Before, in front of, in the presence of, and on account of: in Beowulf, about 725 in Barnhart's dating.^[3][6][2]

Semantic evolution

In Old English for and fore were used as prepositions with much the same range, for being the more frequent; in Middle English the two were gradually told apart,^[6][3][2] and the senses "in front of" and "before" in time died out by the 16th and early 17th centuries.^[6] The uses "on behalf of", "instead of" and "in exchange for" are all Old English,^[6] and "in favour of" is late Old English.^[2] Hoad dates "to obtain, in order to" to the 13th century, "in relation to" to the 14th and "during" to the 15th.^[4] The conjunction appears in late Old English, and Barnhart's first Middle English record is from about 1123;^[2][3] Merriam-Webster now labels its sense "because" archaic.^[10] Johnson (1755) described the conjunction as the word by which the reason is given of something said before.^[11] English dialects kept phrases such as for why, "why", and for me, "as far as I am concerned".^[12]

Timeline

• c. 725 – before, in the presence of; on account of, in Beowulf.^[3][6]
• Old English – on behalf of; instead of; in exchange for a payment.^[6]
• late Old English – in favour of.^[2]
• c. 1123 – conjunction, because, since.^[3]
• 13th century – in order to obtain.^[4]
• 14th century – in relation to.^[4]
• 15th century – during, for a span of time.^[4]

Meanings

Preposition

1. Intended for, or directed to: This parcel is for you.^[13][10]
2. For the benefit or advantage of: She cooked dinner for her parents.^[13][10]
3. With the purpose or aim of: They went out for a walk.^[13][10]
4. In the direction of: The ship sailed for Lisbon.^[13][10]
5. Over a span of time or distance: We waited for two hours.^[13][10]
6. In favour or support of: Most members voted for the plan.^[13][10]
7. In exchange for, or at the price of: He sold the bike for fifty pounds.^[13][6]
8. On behalf of, or in place of: She spoke for the whole team.^[6][13]
9. Because of: He was fined for speeding.^[13][10]
10. (obsolete, Old English–1616) before, in front of.^[6][10]

Conjunction

1. (formal) Because, since: She stayed indoors, for it was raining.^[10][13][11]

Word family

• forever
• forsooth
• forwhy
• wherefore

Related words

• fore
• first
• former
• forth
• further
• pro-

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ a b c d e f g h Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ Weekley, Ernest (1921), An Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, London: John Murray
9. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
10. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
11. ^ a b Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
12. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)
13. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins