English
gown
Gown comes from Middle English gowne ‘a gown or robe’, from Late Latin gunna ‘leather garment, a fur’, and ultimately from Proto-Slavic *guna.
- Proto-Slavicc. 400–900 CE*guna‘coarse fur clothing’reconstructed
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEgunna‘leather garment, a fur’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400goune
- Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400same form
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500gowne‘a gown or robe’
- Englishearliest quotation 1593gown
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Proto-Slavicc. 400–900 CE*guna‘coarse fur clothing’reconstructed
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEgunna‘leather garment, a fur’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400goune
- Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400same form
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500gowne‘a gown or robe’
- Englishearliest quotation 1593gown
Earliest quotation: 1593, anonymous author, The Life and Death of Iacke Straw […]: “VVhat is he an honeſt man? the deuill he…”
Every English word from Proto-Slavic *guna
Today it means
noun A loose, flowing upper garment.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Slavic *guna / gown