English
corgi
Corgi comes from Welsh corgi ‘corgi, Welsh corgi (dog)’, from cor ‘dwarf’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- ‘to cut off’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)ker-‘to cut off’root as named · steps between not traced
- Welshc. 1500–presentcor‘dwarf’
- Welsh, derivedc. 1500–presentcorgi‘corgi, Welsh corgi (dog)’compound of cor
- Englishearliest quotation 1966corgi
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)ker-‘to cut off’root as named · steps between not traced
- Welshc. 1500–presentcor‘dwarf’
- Welsh, derivedc. 1500–presentcorgi‘corgi, Welsh corgi (dog)’compound of cor
- Englishearliest quotation 1966corgi
Earliest quotation: 1966, S. M. Lampson, Sturdy Farm Dogs from Wales: “By this time the Pembrokeshire—the short-tailed corgwn—were increasing in…”
The story
Borrowed from Welsh corgi, a compound of cor (‘dwarf’) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- (‘to cut off’)) + gi (the soft mutation of ci (‘dog’), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱwṓ (‘dog’), perhaps from *peḱ- (‘livestock; wealth’)). The rare plural form corgwn is borrowed from Welsh corgwn.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- ‘to cut off’
across, share, card, short, cross, cancer, screen, shirt, circle, circuit, crucial, score, curve, scare, circus, circulation, skirt, carnival, curb, scar, cancellation, scrutiny, shrine, crest, circa, shear, incarceration, shred, carnage, raffle, circulate, carcinoma, shrewd, crux, shard, coronary, carnal, cirque, scorpion, riddance, 119 more
Today it means
noun —
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- / corgi