Different “Withs” In English, Latin, and French

J.P. in Temecula, California, is a high schooler studying French and Spanish. He notes that the Spanish word con means “with” and English has some linguistically related words, such as congress, which suggests “coming together” and compress, literally “pressing together.” All these words go back to the Latin word cum meaning “with,” which appears in some English phrases, such as cum laude, or “with praise.” The roots of French avec go back to the Latin words apud hoc, literally “near by that.” The English word with once meant “against,” or “in opposition to,” a sense still seen in the word withstand, or “stand against.” The Old English word mid meant “with” as in midwife and midst, but was eventually replaced by with. This is part of a complete episode.