Etymology

across

a·cross
A1C3R1O1S1S1

Today it means: To, toward, or from the far side of (something that lies between two points of interest). Full definition →

Middle English acros ← Anglo-Norman an croiz ← Old French crois
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*h₁én
  2. Proto-Italic*en
  3. Old Latinen
  4. Latinin
  5. Old Frenchen
  6. Proto-Indo-European*(s)ker-der.?
  7. Proto-Italic*kruks /*krukis
  8. Latincrux
  9. Old Frenchcrois
  10. Anglo-Normanan croiz
  11. Middle Englishacros
  12. English todayacross

From Middle English acros, from early Middle English a-croiz, a-creoyz, from Anglo-Norman an (“in, on”) + croiz (“in the form of a cross”). More at cross. By surface analysis, a- + cross.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.