English
Reynard
Reynard comes from Middle English Renard, and goes back to Proto-Germanic *Raginaharduz.
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*Raginaharduznext step skipped: Old French Renart
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500Renard
- Englishearliest quotation 1852Reynard
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*Raginaharduznext step skipped: Old French Renart
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500Renard
- Englishearliest quotation 1852Reynard
Earliest quotation: 1852, Latitat: “Reynard, in his thieving rambles, one night the summer…”
A compound of *raginą ‘decision, advice, counsel’ + *harduz ‘hard, strong’
Proto-Indo-European *Hrek- ‘to speak’
Proto-Germanic *raginą ‘decision, advice, counsel’
Proto-Indo-European *kret- ‘strong, powerful’
Proto-Indo-European *kort-ús
Proto-Germanic *harduz ‘hard, strong’
The story
Inherited from Middle English Renard, from Old French Renart (Modern renard (‘fox’)), influenced by Middle Dutch Reynaerd, both ultimately from Proto-Germanic *Raginaharduz, from *raginą (‘decision, advice, counsel’) + *harduz (‘hard, strong’).
Every English word from Proto-Germanic *Raginaharduz
Today it means
name A male given name.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Germanic *Raginaharduz / Reynard