Etymograph

English

descrier

Descrier comes from Old French descrier ‘to proclaim, announce, cry’, from Proto-West Germanic *krītan ‘to call out, shout’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *greyd-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*greyd-1reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*krītaną2‘to call out, scream, shout, proclaim’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*krītan3‘to call out, shout’reconstructed
  4. Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*crītāre4‘to cry out, shriek’reconstructed
  5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400crier5‘to cry out, shout’
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400descrier6‘to proclaim, announce, cry’
  7. Englishtodaydescrier6

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *krītaną
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Proto-West Germanic *krītan
  3. 3 Wiktionary, Latin critare
  4. 4 Wiktionary, Old French crier
  5. 5 Wiktionary, Old French descrier
  6. 6 Wiktionary, English descrier

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*greyd-Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *krītanąreconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*krītanąWiktionary, Proto-West Germanic *krītan‘to call out, scream, shout, proclaim’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*krītanWiktionary, Latin critare‘to call out, shout’reconstructed
  4. Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*crītāreWiktionary, Old French crier‘to cry out, shriek’reconstructed
  5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400crierWiktionary, Old French descrier‘to cry out, shout’
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400descrierWiktionary, English descrier‘to proclaim, announce, cry’
  7. EnglishtodaydescrierWiktionary, English descrier

Linked words

through Old French crier ‘to cry out, shout’

cry, havoc, 1 more

through Old French descrier ‘to proclaim, announce, cry’

decry

Today it means

noun A person who descries.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “descrier”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Germanic *krītaną, Proto-West Germanic *krītan, Latin critare, Old French crier, Old French descrier. 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 *greyd- / descrier

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