Etymograph

English

cartridge

Cartridge comes from Italian cartoccio ‘roll of paper’, from Ancient Greek χᾰρᾰ́σσω ‘to scratch’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰer-.

  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 BCEχάρτης2‘paper’
  4. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500charta3as carta‘paper’
  5. Italianc. 1300–presentcartoccio3‘roll of paper’
  6. Frenchc. 1600–presentcartouche3
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1907cartridge3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek χάρτης, which cites Beekes, Chantraine
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin charta
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English cartridge
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1907, Harold Bindloss, Toronto: “Still, a dozen men with rifles, and cartridges to…”.

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, Latin charta‘paper’
  4. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500chartaWiktionary, English cartridgeas carta‘paper’
  5. Italianc. 1300–presentcartoccioWiktionary, English cartridge‘roll of paper’
  6. Frenchc. 1600–presentcartoucheWiktionary, English cartridge
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1907cartridgeWiktionary, English cartridge. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1907, Harold Bindloss, Toronto: “Still, a dozen men with rifles, and cartridges to…”

Linked words

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

girl, rocket, chronic, chorus, synchronous, urchin, crony, synchronize, cron, germanium, 32 more

through Ancient Greek χάρτης ‘paper’

charter, cartoon, 11 more

through Medieval Latin charta ‘paper’

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

through French cartouche

cartouche

Today it means

noun The package consisting of the bullet, primer, and casing containing gunpowder; a round of ammunition.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “cartridge”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Ancient Greek χάρτης, Latin charta. 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- / cartridge

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