[ wi[th], with, w&[ ] (preposition.) before 12th century. From Middle English with, from Old English wiþ (“against, opposite, toward”), a shortened form of wiþer, from Proto-Germanic *withr (“against”), from Proto-Indo-European *wi-tero- (“more apart”); from Proto-Indo-European *wi (“separation”). Cognate with German wider (“against”) and wieder (“again”), Dutch weer (“again”), Danish ved (“by, near, with”), Swedish vid (“by, next to, with”). In Middle English, the word shifted to denote association rather than opposition, displacing Middle English mid (“with”), from Old English mid (“with”).