Etymograph

English

card

Card comes from Middle English carde, from Old French carte, from Latin charta ‘paper’, from Ancient Greek χάρτης ‘papyrus’.

  1. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEχάρτης1khártēs‘paper, papyrus’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcharta1‘papyrus, paper’
  3. Old Frenchc. 842–1400carte1
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500carde1‘playing card’
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1590card1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English card
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene: “As pilot well expert in perilous waue, / Vpon…”.

Lineage

  1. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEχάρτηςWiktionary, English cardkhártēs‘paper, papyrus’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEchartaWiktionary, English card‘papyrus, paper’
  3. Old Frenchc. 842–1400carteWiktionary, English card
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500cardeWiktionary, English card‘playing card’
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1590cardWiktionary, English card. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene: “As pilot well expert in perilous waue, / Vpon…”

Word family

English words that share an ancestor with card, grouped by the ancestor they share, most familiar first.

through Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰer- ‘to scratch’

  • girl ← gerle ← *gyrele ← *gurilā ← *gaurā
  • rocket ← roquette ← ruchetta ← eruca ← ēr
  • chronic ← cronike ← chronicus ← χρονικός ← χρόνος
  • chorus ← χορός ← *kʰorós ← *ǵʰoros
  • synchronous ← synchronus ← σύγχρονος ← χρόνος ← *gʰr-ono-
  • urchin ← yrchoun ← irechon ← *ērīciōnem ← ērīcius
  • crony ← χρόνιος ← χρόνος ← *gʰr-ono-
  • synchronize ← συγχρονίζω ← σῠ́γχρονος ← χρόνος ← *gʰr-ono-
  • cron ← χρόνος ← *gʰr-ono-
  • germanium ← Germānia ← Germānī ← Germānus

through Ancient Greek χάρτης ‘paper, papyrus’

  • charter ← chartre ← chartula ← charta
  • cartoon ← carton ← cartone ← carta ← carta

60 more relatives in the full family tree

No ads, ever.

Become a founding member, $29 onceI have a code

Explore everything descended from χάρτης →

Another origin of card

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)ker-‘to cut’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*karōreconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcarō‘to comb with a card’
  4. Late Latinc. 200–600 CE*caritoreconstructed
  5. Old Occitanc. 950–1500carda
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500carde
  7. Englishtodaycard

Another origin of card

  1. Old Frenchc. 842–1400carder
  2. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500carden
  3. Englishtodaycard

No ads, ever. This is how the app stays alive.

Become a founding member, $29 onceWear this word, $32Support the app

Today it means

noun A playing card.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “card”. 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 / Ancient Greek χάρτης / card