English
garnet
Garnet comes from Middle English gernet ‘red, garnet (colour)’, from Old French grenate ‘pomegranate (fruit)’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ǵerh₂- ‘to grow old, to mature’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵerh₂-‘to grow old, to mature’root as named · steps between not traced
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400grenate‘pomegranate (fruit)’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500gernet‘red, garnet (colour)’
- Englishearliest quotation 1911garnet
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵerh₂-‘to grow old, to mature’root as named · steps between not traced
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400grenate‘pomegranate (fruit)’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500gernet‘red, garnet (colour)’
- Englishearliest quotation 1911garnet
Earliest quotation: 1911, Max Beerbohm: “On the back of one cover BRADSHAW, in beryls,…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *ǵerh₂- ‘to grow old, to mature’
grain, carl, corn, granite, karl, grange, kernel, kern, geriatrics, granary, granule, churlish, 14 more
through Old French grenate ‘pomegranate (fruit)’
Today it means
noun A hard transparent mineral that is often used as gemstones and abrasives.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *ǵerh₂- / garnet