English
hanger
Hanger comes from Old Norse angr ‘sorrow, resentment, distress’, from Proto-Germanic *angazaz ‘worry, grief, anxiety’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂enǵʰ- ‘to tighten’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂enǵʰ-‘to tighten’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂énǵʰos‘anxiety, suffering, grief’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*angazaz‘worry, grief, anxiety’reconstructed
- Old Norsec. 800–1350angr‘sorrow, resentment, distress’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500angeras hanger‘Grief, painfulness, or discomfort’
- Englishearliest quotation 1751hanger
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂enǵʰ-‘to tighten’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂énǵʰos‘anxiety, suffering, grief’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*angazaz‘worry, grief, anxiety’reconstructed
- Old Norsec. 800–1350angr‘sorrow, resentment, distress’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500angeras hanger‘Grief, painfulness, or discomfort’
- Englishearliest quotation 1751hanger
Earliest quotation: 1751, Tobias Smollett, The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle […]: “[H]is shoulder was graced with a broad buff belt,…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *h₂enǵʰ- ‘to tighten’
anxiety, anxious, eng, anguish, angst, angina, 12 more
through Middle English anger ‘Grief, painfulness, or discomfort’
Today it means
noun One who hangs, or causes to be hanged; a hangman, paper hanger, etc.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *h₂enǵʰ- / hanger