Etymograph

English

charbon

Charbon comes from French charbon ‘coal’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *ker ‘to burn’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ker1‘to burn’reconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcarbōnem1‘coal’
  3. Old Frenchc. 842–1400charbon1‘coal’
  4. Frenchc. 1600–presentcharbon2‘coal’
  5. Englishtodaycharbon2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, French charbon
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English charbon

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kerWiktionary, French charbon‘to burn’reconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcarbōnemWiktionary, French charbon‘coal’
  3. Old Frenchc. 842–1400charbonWiktionary, French charbon‘coal’
  4. Frenchc. 1600–presentcharbonWiktionary, English charbon‘coal’
  5. EnglishtodaycharbonWiktionary, English charbon

Linked words

through Latin carbōnem ‘coal’

carbonara

Today it means

noun A small black spot or mark remaining in the cavity of the corner tooth of a horse after the large spot or mark has become obliterated.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “charbon”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for French charbon. 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 / charbon

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