English
crack
Crack comes from Middle English crakken, from Old English cracian ‘to resound, crack’, from Proto-West Germanic *krakōn, ultimately from PIE *gerh₂-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gerh₂-‘to resound; to cry hoarsely’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*krakōn‘to crack; to crackle’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150cracian‘to resound; to crack’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500crakken
- Englishearliest quotation 1590crack
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gerh₂-‘to resound; to cry hoarsely’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*krakōn‘to crack; to crackle’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150cracian‘to resound; to crack’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500crakken
- Englishearliest quotation 1590crack
Earliest quotation: 1590, Edmund Spenser, Book II, Canto XI: “Slaunderous reproches,and fowle infamies, / Leaſings,backbytings,and vaineglorious crakes”.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *gerg-
crochet, crouch, encroach, 6 more
through Proto-West Germanic *krakōn ‘to crack, crackle, shriek’
Today it means
verb To form cracks.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *gerh₂- / crack