English
cellar
Cellar comes from Late Latin cellārium ‘storeroom, larder, cellar, pantry’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *ḱel- ‘to cover’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱel-‘to cover’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcella‘a small room, a hut, storeroom’
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEcellārium‘storeroom, larder, cellar, pantry’
- Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400celer
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500same form
- Englishearliest quotation 2008cellar
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱel-‘to cover’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcella‘a small room, a hut, storeroom’
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEcellārium‘storeroom, larder, cellar, pantry’
- Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400celer
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500same form
- Englishearliest quotation 2008cellar
Earliest quotation: 2008, Lucy Burningham, Beer lovers make room for brews worth a wait: “Mr. VandenBerghe says he’s cellared such memorable bottles as…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *ḱel- ‘to cover’
color, hole, hall, hell, holder, ceiling, halt, helmet, hull, hollow, holden, uphold, helm, conceal, occult, clandestine, sari, cilia, recline, sala, declination, declension, tricolour, holing, haugh, halberd, seel, hele, 34 more
through Latin cella ‘a small room, a hut, storeroom’
Another origin of cellar
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sḗh₂l‘salt’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*sāls‘salt’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsal‘salt’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEsalarius‘relating to salt’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400salier
- Frenchc. 1600–presentsalière‘salt cellar, salt shaker’
- Englishtodaycellar
Today it means
noun An enclosed underground space, often under a building, used for storage or shelter.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *ḱel- / cellar