English
chary
Chary comes from Old English ċeariġ ‘careful’, from Proto-West Germanic *karag ‘anxious’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ǵeh₂r- ‘exclamation’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵeh₂r-‘exclamation’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*karō‘complaint, lament, grievance, moan’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*karag‘anxious’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150ċeariġ‘careful’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500cearig
- Middle English, derivedc. 1150–1500chari
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1599–1602chary
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵeh₂r-‘exclamation’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*karō‘complaint, lament, grievance, moan’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*karag‘anxious’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150ċeariġ‘careful’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500cearig
- Middle English, derivedc. 1150–1500chari
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1599–1602chary
Earliest quotation: c. 1599–1602, William Shake-speare, The Tragicall Historie of Hamlet: “The Charieſt maide is prodigall enough, / If ſhe…”
Formed from care + -y
Proto-Indo-European *ǵeh₂r- ‘to shout, call’
…
Proto-Germanic *karō ‘complaint, lament; worry, sorrow’
Proto-West Germanic *karu ‘care, worry’
Old English caru ‘worry, anxiety, care; sorrow’
Middle English care ‘grief’
English care
The story
From Middle English chari, charre, charri, chary, Early Middle English cearig, chariȝ (‘concerned with, diligent; sad, sorrowful; of a person: cherished, loved’), from Old English ċeariġ (‘careful; pensive; chary, wary; anxious, sad, sorrowful; dire, grievous’), from Proto-West Germanic *karag (‘anxious; sad’), from Proto-Germanic *karō + *-gaz, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ǵeh₂r- (‘exclamation; voice’) + *-kos (suffix forming adjectives with the meaning ‘pertaining to; typical of’)); analysable as care + -y. The English word is cognate with Danish karrig (‘miserly, stingy’), Dutch karig (‘austere, scant, sparing’), Norwegian karrig (‘barren; meagre; poor’), Old High German charag, karag (‘sparing’) (modern German karg (‘barren; meagre, poor’)), Old Saxon carag, karag, Swedish karg (‘austere; barren; hungry; needy, poor’).
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *ǵeh₂r- ‘exclamation’
careless, charm, garrulous, 11 more
through Proto-Germanic *karō ‘complaint, lament, grievance, moan’
Today it means
adj Careful, cautious, shy, wary.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *ǵeh₂r- / chary