long
Of great length or duration; extending a considerable distance.
Etymology
From Old English lang/long, from Proto-Germanic *langaz. This traces to PIE *dlh₁gʰó- meaning "long, extended." The initial d- was lost in Germanic. The word has cognates across most Indo-European branches.
The Journey: *dlh₁gʰó- → long
*dlh₁gʰó-
*langaz
lang/long
long
Cognates Across Languages
These words in other languages descend from the same PIE root *dlh₁gʰó-. They are not borrowings but independent inheritances from a common ancestor.
| Language | Word |
|---|---|
| Greek | dolíkhos |
| Latin | longus |
| Gothic | laggs |
| Sanskrit | dīrghá- |
| Old Irish | (none direct) |
| Old Church Slavonic | dlŭgŭ |
Did You Know?
Latin longus gave English "longitude" (how long/far east or west) and "longevity" (long life). The Greek cognate dolíkhos appears in "dolichocephalic" (long-headed), an anthropological term.
This word descends from the Proto-Indo-European root *dlh₁gʰó-. See the full root page for descendant trees, sound law references, and scholarly discussion.