Etymograph

English

herry

Herry comes from Old English herian ‘to extol, praise, commend, help’, from Proto-West Germanic *haʀjan ‘to call out, shout’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱens- ‘to speak in a florid, solemn style, attest,…’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱens-‘to speak in a florid, solemn style, attest, witness’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*hazjaną‘to call, praise’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*haʀjan‘to call out, shout’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150herian‘to extol, praise, commend, help’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500heryen
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1590herry

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱens-‘to speak in a florid, solemn style, attest, witness’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*hazjaną‘to call, praise’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*haʀjan‘to call out, shout’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150herian‘to extol, praise, commend, help’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500heryen
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1590herry

Earliest quotation: 1590, Edmund Spenser, Book II, Canto XII: “Thenceforth it firmely was eſtabliſhed, / And for Apolloes…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *ḱens- ‘to speak in a florid, solemn style, attest,…’

census, charm, cosmic, cosmetic, cosmos, censor, censure, cosmetology, 11 more

Today it means

verb To honour, praise or celebrate.

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

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *ḱens- / herry

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