Does the word "from" exactly mean, where you were born?

Question

I am 21 years old and i had a debate with three older people older than me and they told me that the original meaning of from is "where you are born". I told them that from can also mean where you grew up the most of your life or raised. They told me that I was still young and really did not understand the word "from". I am a college student and wanted to try to prove to them that I was not too young to know common knowlegde. i dont usually try to prove myself but i had to try on this one knowing it is sort of weird to debate over the word "from".

Answer 1

There is no "correct" answer to your question. If one asks "Where are you from?" it might mean "where were you born" or "where were you raised" depending on context and what the parties to the conversation believe is truly the information requested. For example, my daughter was born in Florida, but we moved when she was 6 weeks old. It wouldn't make much sense to say she is "from" Florida if the nature of the conversation is about "where have you spent most of your time other than here." I was born in Pennsylvania, lived in many other states and have now been in North Carolina for some 17 years. When someone asks where I am "from," I respond that I was born and grew up in Pennsylvania, went to college in New York, spent 12 years in Florida and am now a North Carolina resident to avoid any ambiguity. Perhaps the folks you were talking with are referring to a time when mobility was not as easy as it is now and people did not move around as much. We derive much of the meaning of questions from context, so that should be the greatest guide in what is truly being asked about, not some "absolute" meaning of the word "from" in the abstract.

Answer 2

i agree with both, not always are you "from" the place you are born, example: my sister was born in germany because my dad was stationed there, but she is not from germany...

Answer 3

I don't know where your from but where I am from that is exactly what it means.