English
throne
Throne comes from Latin thronus ‘a throne’, and goes back to Ancient Greek θρόνος ‘a seat, chair’.
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEθρόνοςthrónos‘a seat, chair’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEthronus‘a throne’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400trone
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500trone
- Englishearliest quotation 1611throne
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEθρόνοςthrónos‘a seat, chair’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEthronus‘a throne’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400trone
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500trone
- Englishearliest quotation 1611throne
Earliest quotation: 1611, The Holy Bible, London: […] Robert Barker: “9 After this I beheld, and lo, a great…”
The story
Superseded earlier seld (‘seat, throne’).
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *dʰer- ‘to hold’
dark, drug, firm, dry, drama, dare, drain, feasible, formidable, drastic, refrain, darn, dharma, drone, dazed, dor, dern, 42 more
Today it means
noun An impressive seat used by a monarch, often on a raised dais in a throne room and reserved for formal occasions.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Ancient Greek θρόνος / throne