Etymograph

English

caravan

Caravan comes from Middle Persian kʾlwʾn', from Old Persian k-a-r ‘people, subjects’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ker- ‘army’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ker-1‘army’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kór-o-s1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Indo-Iranianc. 2500–1800 BCE*kā́ras1reconstructed
  4. Proto-Iranianprehistoric (reconstructed)*kā́rah2‘army’reconstructed
  5. Old Persianc. 600–300 BCEk-a-r3transliteratedoriginal script k-a-r, a transliteration; the original signs are in Wiktionary‘people, subjects’
  6. Middle Persianc. 300 BCE–900 CEkʾlwʾn'3kārawān
  7. Persianc. 900–presentکاروان3kârvân
  8. Old Frenchc. 842–1400carvane3
  9. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600caravane3
  10. Englishearliest quotation 1825caravan3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Iranian *kā́rah
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Old Persian 𐎣𐎠𐎼
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English caravan
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1825, Royal Society: “An Italian woman, twenty years of age, […] was…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ker-Wiktionary, Proto-Iranian *kā́rah‘army’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kór-o-sWiktionary, Proto-Iranian *kā́rahreconstructed
  3. Proto-Indo-Iranianc. 2500–1800 BCE*kā́rasWiktionary, Proto-Iranian *kā́rahreconstructed
  4. Proto-Iranianprehistoric (reconstructed)*kā́rahWiktionary, Old Persian 𐎣𐎠𐎼‘army’reconstructed
  5. Old Persianc. 600–300 BCEk-a-rWiktionary, English caravantransliteratedoriginal script k-a-r, a transliteration; the original signs are in Wiktionary‘people, subjects’
  6. Middle Persianc. 300 BCE–900 CEkʾlwʾn'Wiktionary, English caravankārawān
  7. Persianc. 900–presentکاروانWiktionary, English caravankârvân
  8. Old Frenchc. 842–1400carvaneWiktionary, English caravan
  9. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600caravaneWiktionary, English caravan
  10. Englishearliest quotation 1825caravanWiktionary, English caravan. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1825, Royal Society: “An Italian woman, twenty years of age, […] was…”

The story

The word was used to designate a group of people who were travelling by camel or horse on the Silk Road.

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *ker- ‘army’

harry, rugby, rout, croup, roop, 5 more

Today it means

noun A convoy or procession of travellers, their cargo and vehicles, and any pack animals, especially camels crossing a desert.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “caravan”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Iranian *kā́rah, Old Persian 𐎣𐎠𐎼. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *ker- / caravan

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