English
Guiscard
Guiscard comes from Medieval Latin Guiscardus.
- Medieval Latinc. 600–1500Guiscardusby way of Old Northern French guische
- EnglishtodayGuiscard
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Medieval Latinc. 600–1500Guiscardusby way of Old Northern French guische
- EnglishtodayGuiscard
A compound of vizkr ‘clever’ + harðr ‘hard’
Proto-Indo-European *weyd- ‘to know’
Proto-Germanic *witą ‘knowledge’
Old Norse vit ‘wit, understanding, sense, intelligence, reason’
Old Norse vizkr ‘clever’
Proto-Indo-European *kret- ‘strong, powerful’
Proto-Indo-European *kort-ús
Proto-Germanic *harduz ‘hard’
Old Norse harðr ‘hard’
The story
Via Medieval Latin Guiscardus, Italian Guiscardo, Old French Guischart (literally “crafty rogue, trickster”), via Old Northern French guische (‘ruse’) from Old Norse vizkr (‘clever’) + harðr (‘hard’); compare suffix -ard in Richard.
Every English word from Medieval Latin Guiscardus
Today it means
name the sobriquet of Robert de Hauteville, a Norman adventurer remembered for the conquest of southern Italy and Sicily, founder of the County of Sicily
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Medieval Latin Guiscardus / Guiscard