They can be found in Proto-Germanic roots. German, Dutch, Swedish, etc all use them.

There's a decent discussion at https://www.encyclopedia.com/literature-and-arts/language-linguistics-and-literary-terms/language-and-linguistics/phrasal-verb This type of usage - a pair (or more) of words whose meaning when used together is different from the meaning of either used alone - goes back centuries. The label "phrasal verb" may be far more recent, possibly dating from 1925 according to this source : https://www.encyclopedia.com/literature-and-arts/language-linguistics-and-literary-terms/language-and-linguistics/phrasal-verb The OED, though, lists a usage from 1879 "879 J. Earle Philol. Eng. Tongue (ed. 3) x. 553 Modern English has made a new phrasal verb, and one that yet waits for a name. In this new verb the pronoun it, referring to no noun, acts as an objective accompaniment, and runs next after the verb." There'a an idea around that much of English is "figurative" in use, rather than literal, and phrasal verbs might be seen in this context: two words that, when taken together, offer a new meaning often not really reflecting the literal meaning of either :)