Etymograph

English

hoard

Hoard comes from Middle English hord ‘a hoard or cache of hidden valuables’, from Proto-West Germanic *hoʀd ‘treasure’, and ultimately from Proto-Germanic *huzdą.

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*huzdą‘treasure’reconstructed
  2. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*hoʀd‘treasure’reconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150hord‘an accumulation of valuable objects cached for preservation or future use’
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500same form‘a hoard or cache of hidden valuables’
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1861hoard

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Earlier history uncertain.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*huzdą‘treasure’reconstructed
  2. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*hoʀd‘treasure’reconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150hord‘an accumulation of valuable objects cached for preservation or future use’
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500same form‘a hoard or cache of hidden valuables’
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1861hoard

Earliest quotation: 1861, Thomas Oswald Cockayne: “Be ye not willing to hoard to you gold…”

The story

From Middle English hord, from Old English hord (‘an accumulation of valuable objects cached for preservation or future use; treasure; hoard’), from Proto-West Germanic *hoʀd, from Proto-Germanic *huzdą (‘treasure; hoard’), of unknown origin, but possibly derived from Proto-Indo-European *kewdʰ- (‘to conceal, hide’), thus meaning “something hidden”.uncertain The source flags this step as uncertain. For the meaning development, compare Russian сокро́вище (sokróvišče, “treasure”) related to Russian скрыва́ть (skryvátʹ, “to hide, to conceal”).

Every English word from Proto-Germanic *huzdą

Another origin of hoard

  1. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*hoʀdōn‘to lay up, hoard’reconstructed
  2. Old Englishc. 450–1150hordian‘to hoard, lay up treasure, store’
  3. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500horden‘to secrete, hoard or amass’
  4. Englishtodayhoard

Another origin of hoard

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kreh₂-‘wickerwork’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*hurdiz‘wickerwork door or frame, hurdle’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*hurdi‘wickerwork, braiding of branches, hurdle, scaffolding, military company’reconstructed
  4. Old Dutchc. 500–1150*hurdreconstructed
  5. Middle Dutchc. 1150–1500horde
  6. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400hurde
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500hord‘a hoard or cache of hidden valuables’
  8. Englishtodayhoard

Today it means

noun A hidden supply or fund.

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

Etymograph / Proto-Germanic *huzdą / hoard

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