English
hurdle
Hurdle comes from Old English hyrdel ‘frame of intertwined twigs used as a temporary…’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *kreh₂-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kreh₂-reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*hurdiz‘wickerwork door or frame, hurdle’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanic, derivedc. 500 BCE–200 CE*hurdilazreconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*hurdilreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150hyrdel‘frame of intertwined twigs used as a temporary barrier’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500hurdel
- Englishearliest quotation 1550hurdle
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kreh₂-reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*hurdiz‘wickerwork door or frame, hurdle’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanic, derivedc. 500 BCE–200 CE*hurdilazreconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*hurdilreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150hyrdel‘frame of intertwined twigs used as a temporary barrier’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500hurdel
- Englishearliest quotation 1550hurdle
Earliest quotation: 1550, Francis Bacon, A Preparation Toward the Union of Laws: “In treason, the corporal punishment is by drawing on…”
Linked words
through Proto-Germanic *hurdiz ‘wickerwork door or frame, hurdle’
Today it means
noun An artificial barrier, variously constructed, over which athletes or horses jump in a race.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *kreh₂- / hurdle