Etymograph

English

cheer

Cheer comes from Old French chiere ‘head, face’, and perhaps goes back to Proto-Indo-European *ḱerh₂-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱerh₂-1‘top, head, horn’uncertain
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱr̥h₂-(e)s-n-1euncertain
  3. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκάρᾱ1‘head, face’uncertain
  4. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEcara2‘head’
  5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400chiere2‘head, face’
  6. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400chere2
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500chere2‘state of mind as indicated by facial expression’
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1485cheer2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin cara
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English cheer
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1485, Sir Thomas Malory, viij: “And soo on the morne they were alle accorded…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱerh₂-Wiktionary, Latin cara‘top, head, horn’uncertain
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱr̥h₂-(e)s-n-Wiktionary, Latin caraeuncertain
  3. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκάρᾱWiktionary, Latin cara‘head, face’uncertain
  4. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEcaraWiktionary, English cheer‘head’
  5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400chiereWiktionary, English cheer‘head, face’
  6. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400chereWiktionary, English cheer
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500chereWiktionary, English cheer‘state of mind as indicated by facial expression’
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1485cheerWiktionary, English cheer. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1485, Sir Thomas Malory, viij: “And soo on the morne they were alle accorded…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *ḱerh₂- ‘top, head, horn’

horn, hart, grail, cerebral, migraine, crater, corny, cornea, cairn, cornet, procrastinate, cranium, cerebellum, keratin, cerebrum, rother, 51 more

through Proto-Indo-European *ḱr̥h₂-(e)s-n-

carotid, 2 more

Today it means

noun A cheerful attitude; happiness; a good, happy, or positive mood.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “cheer”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin cara. 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 *ḱerh₂- / cheer

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