English
altar
Altar comes from Latin altāre ‘altar, fitting for burnt offerings’.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEaltāre‘altar, fitting for burnt offerings’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500auter
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1503–1512altar
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEaltāre‘altar, fitting for burnt offerings’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500auter
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1503–1512altar
Earliest quotation: c. 1503–1512, John Skelton, Ware the Hauke; republished in John Scattergood: “To hawke, or els to hunt From the auter…”
The story
Inherited from Middle English auter, inherited from Old English altar and borrowed from Old French auter, both derived from Latin altāre, probably related to adolere (‘burn’); thus "burning place", influenced by altus (‘high’).
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *h₂el- ‘grow, nourish’
as, all, else, el, adult, element, ultimate, ellen, alien, ultra, outrage, ou, qualification, alternate, alumni, adolescent, abolish, alter, alpine, alias, alum, alimony, alibi, retaliate, ulterior, alp, proletariat, altruism, parallax, coalesce, aad, foetal, althea, withal, 64 more
through Proto-Indo-European *h₂eltós
old, elder, auld, eld, 14 more
through Latin altus ‘tall, lofty’
altitude, alt, alto, haughty, haut, altimeter, exalt, 13 more
Today it means
noun A table or similar flat-topped structure used for religious rites.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Latin altāre / altar