Etymology

how-to

Today it means: That gives advice or instruction on a particular topic. Full definition →

English to ← Middle English to ← Old English tō
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*kʷ-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*kʷís
  3. Proto-Germanic*hwō
  4. Old Englishhū
  5. Middle Englishhow
  6. Englishhow
  7. Proto-Indo-European*de
  8. Proto-Indo-European*doh₁
  9. Proto-Germanic*tō
  10. Proto-West Germanic*tō
  11. Old Englishtō
  12. Middle Englishto
  13. Englishto
  14. English todayhow-to

From how + to.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.