English
makar
Makar comes from Scots makar ‘maker, creator’, from Old English macian ‘to perform or carry out (a miracle)’, and ultimately from Proto-Germanic *makaz ‘fit, suitable, agreeable, comfortable’.
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*makaz‘fit, suitable, agreeable, comfortable’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*mak‘fit, suitable’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanic, derivedc. 200–500 CE*makōn‘to make suitable’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150macian‘to perform or carry out (a miracle)’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500maken‘to make or create’
- Middle English, derivedc. 1150–1500maker‘God as creator of all’
- Scotsc. 1450–presentmakar‘maker, creator’
- Englishearliest quotation 2021same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*makaz‘fit, suitable, agreeable, comfortable’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*mak‘fit, suitable’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanic, derivedc. 200–500 CE*makōn‘to make suitable’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150macian‘to perform or carry out (a miracle)’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500maken‘to make or create’
- Middle English, derivedc. 1150–1500maker‘God as creator of all’
- Scotsc. 1450–presentmakar‘maker, creator’
- Englishearliest quotation 2021same form
Earliest quotation: 2021, Libby Brooks, Scotland’s new makar Kathleen Jamie: ‘Poetry is at the heart: “Could the role of makar, which at the least…”
Linked words
through Old English macian ‘to perform or carry out (a miracle)’
through Middle English maker ‘God as creator of all’
Today it means
noun A poet writing in Scots.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Germanic *makaz / makar