English
alert
Alert comes from Old French a l'herte ‘on the watch, on guard’, and goes back to Italian allerta ‘to the height’.
- Italianc. 1300–presentallertaas all'erta‘to the height’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400a l'herte‘on the watch, on guard’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentalerte
- Englishearliest quotation 1712alert
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history not traced here.
Lineage
- Italianc. 1300–presentallertaas all'erta‘to the height’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400a l'herte‘on the watch, on guard’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentalerte
- Englishearliest quotation 1712alert
Earliest quotation: 1712, WEDNESDAY, June 12, 1712: “I saw an alert young fellow that cocked his…”
Every English word from Italian allerta
Today it means
adj Attentive; awake; on guard.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Italian allerta / alert