forstand

The story

1. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*frastandan“to understand, oppose”
2. Old English · inherited fromforstandan“to defend, help, protect, withstand, prevent, hinder, resist, oppose, benefit, avail, understand, signify, be equal to”
3. Middle English · inherited fromforstanden
4. English todayforstand

From Middle English forstanden, from Old English forstandan (“to defend, help, protect, withstand, prevent, hinder, resist, oppose, benefit, avail, understand, signify, be equal to”), from Proto-West Germanic *frastandan (“to understand, oppose”), equivalent to for- + stand. Cognate with West Frisian ferstean (“to understand”), Saterland Frisian ferstounde (“to understand”), Dutch verstaan (“to understand”), German verstehen (“to understand”). Compare also Norwegian Bokmål forstå (“to comprehend, understand”), Swedish förstå (“to comprehend, understand”).