Etymograph

English

ark

Ark comes from Old English earc ‘a chest (for storage)’, from Latin arceō ‘to enclose’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂erk- ‘to protect’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂erk-‘to protect’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂orkéyetireconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*arkeō‘to contain’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEarceō‘to enclose’
  5. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEarca‘chest, box, coffer’
  6. Old Englishc. 450–1150earc‘a chest (for storage)’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500arke
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1850ark

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂erk-‘to protect’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂orkéyetireconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*arkeō‘to contain’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEarceō‘to enclose’
  5. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEarca‘chest, box, coffer’
  6. Old Englishc. 450–1150earc‘a chest (for storage)’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500arke
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1850ark

Earliest quotation: 1850, Thomas Keightley, The Fairy Mythology: “Then said he, "Your child is at home in…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *h₂erk- ‘to protect’

ogre, 3 more

through Latin arceō ‘to enclose’

coercion, coerce, arcana, 2 more

through Latin arca ‘chest, box, coffer’

arcane

Today it means

noun A large box with a flat lid.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *h₂erk- / ark

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