Etymograph

English

cart

Cart comes from Old English cræt ‘cart, wagon’, from Proto-Germanic *kradô ‘basket’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gretH- ‘to tie’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gretH-‘to tie’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*kradô‘basket’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*kratreconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150cræt‘cart, wagon’next step skipped: Old Norse kartr
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500cart
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1708same form

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gretH-‘to tie’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*kradô‘basket’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*kratreconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150cræt‘cart, wagon’next step skipped: Old Norse kartr
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500cart
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1708same form

Earliest quotation: 1708, Matthew Prior: “She to intrigues was ev'n hard hearted: She chuckled…”

The story

Wider cognates include Sanskrit ग्रन्थ (grantha, “a binding”).

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *gretH- ‘to tie’

crate

through Proto-Germanic *kradô ‘basket’

cradle

Today it means

noun A small, open, wheeled vehicle, drawn or pushed by a person or animal, often with two wheels on one axle, more often used for transporting goods than passengers.

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

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *gretH- / cart

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