Etymograph

English

cram

Cram comes from Old English crammian ‘to cram’, from Proto-West Germanic *krammōn ‘to squeeze’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ger- ‘to assemble’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ger-‘to assemble’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*krimmaną‘to stuff’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanic, derivedc. 500 BCE–200 CE*krammōną‘to squeeze’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*krammōn‘to squeeze’reconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150crammian‘to cram’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500crammen
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1864cram

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ger-‘to assemble’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*krimmaną‘to stuff’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanic, derivedc. 500 BCE–200 CE*krammōną‘to squeeze’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*krammōn‘to squeeze’reconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150crammian‘to cram’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500crammen
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1864cram

Earliest quotation: 1864, Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu: “It is awful, an old un like that telling…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *ger- ‘to assemble’

creek, griffin, crotch, crouch, cripple, crate, crutch, crosse, crinkle, 9 more

Today it means

verb To press, force, or drive, particularly in filling, or in thrusting one thing into another; to stuff; to fill to superfluity.

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

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *ger- / cram

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