Etymograph

English

garçonnière

Garçonnière comes from French garçon ‘boy’, from Proto-Germanic *wrakjô ‘exile, driven one’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *wreg- ‘track, hunt, follow’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wreg-‘track, hunt, follow’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*wrekaną‘to pursue’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanic, derivedc. 500 BCE–200 CE*wrakjô‘exile, driven one’reconstructed
  4. Frankishc. 250–700*wrakkjō‘servant, boy’reconstructed
  5. Early Medieval Latinmoderngarciōnem
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400garçon
  7. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600same form
  8. Frenchc. 1600–presentsame form‘boy’
  9. French, derivedc. 1600–presentgarçonnière
  10. Englishearliest quotation 1957same form

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wreg-‘track, hunt, follow’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*wrekaną‘to pursue’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanic, derivedc. 500 BCE–200 CE*wrakjô‘exile, driven one’reconstructed
  4. Frankishc. 250–700*wrakkjō‘servant, boy’reconstructed
  5. Early Medieval Latinmoderngarciōnem
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400garçon
  7. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600same form
  8. Frenchc. 1600–presentsame form‘boy’
  9. French, derivedc. 1600–presentgarçonnière
  10. Englishearliest quotation 1957same form

Earliest quotation: 1957, Lawrence Durrell: “He did not care for money, except to spend…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *wreg- ‘track, hunt, follow’

wretched, 4 more

through Proto-Germanic *wrekaną ‘to pursue’

wreck, wreak, 3 more

through Proto-Germanic *wrakjô ‘exile, driven one’

wretch, 3 more

Today it means

noun A bachelor pad.

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

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *wreg- / garçonnière

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