English
silvern
Silvern comes from Middle English sylveren ‘Formed from silver’, and goes back to Proto-Germanic *silubrą.
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*silubrą‘silver’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanic, derivedc. 500 BCE–200 CE*silubrīnaz‘made of silver’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150seolfren‘silver’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500sylveren‘Formed from silver’
- Englishearliest quotation 1868silvern
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*silubrą‘silver’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanic, derivedc. 500 BCE–200 CE*silubrīnaz‘made of silver’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150seolfren‘silver’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500sylveren‘Formed from silver’
- Englishearliest quotation 1868silvern
Earliest quotation: 1868, Sleeping Dogs: “But, leaving novelists alone, on the whole we find…”
Formed from silver + -en
Proto-Germanic *silubrą ‘silver’
Proto-West Germanic *silubr ‘silver’
Old English seolfor ‘silver’
Middle English silver ‘silver’
English silver
Every English word from Proto-Germanic *silubrą
Today it means
adj Made of silver; resembling or characteristic of silver; silvery.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Germanic *silubrą / silvern