Etymograph

English

coronet

Coronet comes from Old French corone ‘crown’, from Ancient Greek κορώνη ‘a type of sea-bird, perhaps shearwater’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱorh₂- ‘crow, raven’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱorh₂-1‘crow, raven’reconstructed
  2. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκορώνη2korṓnē‘a type of sea-bird, perhaps shearwater’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcorona2‘crown’
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400corone2‘crown’
  5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400coronete2diminutive of corone
  6. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600couronnette2
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1813coronet2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek κορώνη
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English coronet
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1813, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Canto I: “[T]he fair star / That gems the glittering coronet…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱorh₂-Wiktionary, Ancient Greek κορώνη‘crow, raven’reconstructed
  2. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκορώνηWiktionary, English coronetkorṓnē‘a type of sea-bird, perhaps shearwater’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcoronaWiktionary, English coronet‘crown’
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400coroneWiktionary, English coronet‘crown’
  5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400coroneteWiktionary, English coronetdiminutive of corone
  6. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600couronnetteWiktionary, English coronet
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1813coronetWiktionary, English coronet. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1813, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Canto I: “[T]he fair star / That gems the glittering coronet…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *ḱorh₂- ‘crow, raven’

corniche, 13 more

through Ancient Greek κορώνη ‘a type of sea-bird, perhaps shearwater’

crowning, corollary, 15 more

through Latin corona ‘crown’

crown, tosh, corolla, krona, 17 more

Today it means

noun A small crown, such as is worn by a noble.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “coronet”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Ancient Greek κορώνη. 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 *ḱorh₂- / coronet

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