Follow
/ˈfɑloʊ/noun
To go or come after someone or something; to act according to or as a result of something.
Did you know?The word comes from an old Germanic idea of going in pursuit, and its deep relatives include words tied to “foot” and movement, reminding us that language once tracked bodies before ideas.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*ped-
“foot”
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*fulgōną
“to follow, pursue”
Old English
OE
folgian
“to follow, accompany, pursue”
Middle English
ME
folwen / volgen
“to follow, come after”
Modern English
English
follow
“to go or come after; to pursue, accompany, or understand”