Etymograph

English

cartonnage

Cartonnage comes from French cartonnage ‘a cardboard covering of a parcel for…’, from Italian carta ‘paper’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰer- ‘to scratch’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵʰer-1‘to scratch’reconstructed
  2. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEχᾰρᾰ́σσω1khărắssō‘to scratch’
  3. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEχάρτης2khártēs‘sheet of paper’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcharta2‘papyrus, paper’
  5. Italianc. 1300–presentcarta2‘paper’
  6. Italianc. 1300–presentcartone2‘cardboard, paperboard’
  7. Frenchc. 1600–presentcarton2‘cardboard’
  8. Frenchc. 1600–presentcartonner2‘to cover with cardboard’
  9. Frenchc. 1600–presentcartonnage2‘a cardboard covering of a parcel for protection during delivery’
  10. Englishtodaycartonnage2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek χάρτης, which cites Beekes, Chantraine
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English cartonnage

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵʰer-Wiktionary, Ancient Greek χάρτης, which cites Beekes, Chantraine‘to scratch’reconstructed
  2. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEχᾰρᾰ́σσωWiktionary, Ancient Greek χάρτης, which cites Beekes, Chantrainekhărắssō‘to scratch’
  3. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEχάρτηςWiktionary, English cartonnagekhártēs‘sheet of paper’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEchartaWiktionary, English cartonnage‘papyrus, paper’
  5. Italianc. 1300–presentcartaWiktionary, English cartonnage‘paper’
  6. Italianc. 1300–presentcartoneWiktionary, English cartonnage‘cardboard, paperboard’
  7. Frenchc. 1600–presentcartonWiktionary, English cartonnage‘cardboard’
  8. Frenchc. 1600–presentcartonnerWiktionary, English cartonnage‘to cover with cardboard’
  9. Frenchc. 1600–presentcartonnageWiktionary, English cartonnage‘a cardboard covering of a parcel for protection during delivery’
  10. EnglishtodaycartonnageWiktionary, English cartonnage

Linked words

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

girl, rocket, chronic, chorus, synchronous, urchin, synchronize, crony, cron, germanium, 33 more

through Ancient Greek χάρτης ‘sheet of paper’

charter, 12 more

through Latin charta ‘papyrus, paper’

card, chart, cartel, cartridge, carte, cartography, 10 more

through Italian carta ‘paper’

cartouche, 3 more

Today it means

noun The papyrus used to wrap mummies in ancient Egypt.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “cartonnage”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Ancient Greek χάρτης. 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 *ǵʰer- / cartonnage

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