English
madder
Madder comes from Middle English mader ‘Madder or a similar plant’, and goes back to Proto-Germanic *madarǭ.
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*madarǭreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150mædere
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500mader‘Madder or a similar plant’
- Englishearliest quotation 1841madder
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*madarǭreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150mædere
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500mader‘Madder or a similar plant’
- Englishearliest quotation 1841madder
Earliest quotation: 1841, Jesse Buel, The Farmers' Instructor. Consisting of Essays: “Madder (Rubia tinctorum). — This plant has a perennial…”
Every English word from Proto-Germanic *madarǭ
Today it means
noun A herbaceous plant, Rubia tinctorum, native to Asia, cultivated for a red-purple dye (alizarin) obtained from the root.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Germanic *madarǭ / madder