English
radar
Radar comes from Old French rengier ‘to line up’, from reng ‘place’, and ultimately from Vulgar Latin *rencus ‘row’.
- Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*rencus‘row’reconstructed
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400reng‘place’
- Old French, derivedc. 842–1400rengier‘to line up’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500rengen
- English1500–presentrange
- Englishearliest quotation 1941radar
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*rencus‘row’reconstructed
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400reng‘place’
- Old French, derivedc. 842–1400rengier‘to line up’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500rengen
- English1500–presentrange
- Englishearliest quotation 1941radar
Earliest quotation: 1941, Arthur Krock, The value of armament to merchant ships: “[T]he [depth] bombs must be tied to a grid…”
The story
The noun is derived from RADAR by anacronymic evolution. RADAR is an acronym of ra(dio) d(etection) a(nd) r(anging) which was coined by Lieutenant-Commander Samuel M. Furth of the United States Navy in November 1940.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *h₃reǵ- ‘to straighten’
right, real, director, source, region, rule, direction, direct, rich, royal, correct, dress, regular, regime, roy, ana, rex, rogue, regulate, resurrection, interrogation, rack, erect, regent, rector, regal, regency, insurrection, rectify, anorexia, raj, rake, rectum, rani, rhesus, rectification, incorrigible, droit, régime, dirge, 103 more
through Proto-Germanic *rankaz ‘erect, upright’
through Old French reng ‘place’
through Old French rengier ‘to line up’
through Middle English rengen
Today it means
noun In full primary radar: a method of detecting a distant object and determining its position, velocity, or other characteristics by analysing radio waves (usually microwaves) which are sent towards the object and which reflect off its surfaces; also, the field of study of this method.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Vulgar Latin *rencus / radar