Etymograph

English

chariot

Chariot comes from Old French char ‘cart’, from Latin carrus ‘wagon’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱers- ‘to run’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱers-1‘to run’root named by Wiktionary
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱr̥sós1‘vehicle, literally runner’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Celticc. 1300–800 BCE*karros1‘wagon’reconstructed
  4. Gaulishc. 500 BCE–500 CE*karros1‘wagon’reconstructed
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcarrus1‘wagon’
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400char1‘cart’
  7. Old Frenchc. 842–1400chariot1
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500chariot1
  9. Englishtodaychariot1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English chariot

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱers-Wiktionary, English chariot‘to run’root named by Wiktionary
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱr̥sósWiktionary, English chariot‘vehicle, literally runner’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Celticc. 1300–800 BCE*karrosWiktionary, English chariot‘wagon’reconstructed
  4. Gaulishc. 500 BCE–500 CE*karrosWiktionary, English chariot‘wagon’reconstructed
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcarrusWiktionary, English chariot‘wagon’
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400charWiktionary, English chariot‘cart’
  7. Old Frenchc. 842–1400chariotWiktionary, English chariot
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500chariotWiktionary, English chariot
  9. EnglishtodaychariotWiktionary, English chariot

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *ḱers- ‘to run’

course, current, rush, occur, currency, hurry, curriculum, corridor, courier, precursor, incur, concur, cursor, carousel, hurrah, recursive, corsair, recur, courant, succour, hussar, 42 more

through Proto-Indo-European *ḱr̥sós ‘vehicle, literally runner’

corral, 12 more

through Gaulish *karros ‘wagon’

discharge, recharge, 10 more

through Latin carrus ‘wagon’

car, career, carry, charge, cargo, carrier, carriage, caricature, carrack, 12 more

Today it means

noun A two-wheeled horse-drawn cart, used in Bronze Age and Early Iron Age warfare.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “chariot”. 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 *ḱers- / chariot

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