English
crate
Crate comes from Dutch krat ‘crate, large box, basket’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *ger- ‘to bind, twist, wind’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ger-‘to bind, twist, wind’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*gretH-‘plaiting, wicker, basket, cradle’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*kratjôreconstructed
- Old Dutchc. 500–1150*krattareconstructed
- Middle Dutchc. 1150–1500cratte‘basketware, mold’
- Dutchc. 1500–presentkrat‘crate, large box, basket’
- Englishearliest quotation 1917crate
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ger-‘to bind, twist, wind’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*gretH-‘plaiting, wicker, basket, cradle’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*kratjôreconstructed
- Old Dutchc. 500–1150*krattareconstructed
- Middle Dutchc. 1150–1500cratte‘basketware, mold’
- Dutchc. 1500–presentkrat‘crate, large box, basket’
- Englishearliest quotation 1917crate
Earliest quotation: 1917, Edwin B. Stimpson Co. v. Chicago, B. & Q. R. Co.: “He also testified that the reason he crated the…”
The story
Wider cognates include Sanskrit ग्रन्थ (grantha, “a binding”).
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *ger- ‘to bind, twist, wind’
creek, griffin, crotch, crouch, cripple, crutch, crosse, cram, crinkle, 9 more
through Proto-Indo-European *gretH- ‘plaiting, wicker, basket, cradle’
Today it means
noun A large open box or basket, used especially to transport fragile goods.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *ger- / crate