Etymograph

English

entrance

Entrance probably comes from Middle French entrance ‘entry’; it replaced native Middle English ingang.

  1. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600entrance1‘entry’uncertain
  2. Englishearliest quotation c. 1599–1602entrance1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English entrance
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1599–1602, William Shakespeare, The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke: “Beware of entrance to a quarrel.”.

Lineage

  1. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600entranceWiktionary, English entrance‘entry’uncertain
  2. Englishearliest quotation c. 1599–1602entranceWiktionary, English entrance. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1599–1602, William Shakespeare, The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke: “Beware of entrance to a quarrel.”

The story

Replaced native Middle English ingang (‘entrance, admission’), from Old English ingang (‘ingress, entry, entrance’).

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *h₁én ‘in’

in, internal, indigenous, intimate, encounter, impulse, ensemble, intern, intestine, incubation, incense, endo, impel, incubus, incubate, agog, interregnum, intimation, censer, 31 more

through Proto-Indo-European *h₁énteros ‘inside, within’

interior, introduce, intro, dysentery, enteral, 12 more

through Latin intrō

entry, introversion, 4 more

through Old French entrer ‘to enter’

enter, 2 more

Today it means

noun The action of entering, or going in.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “entrance”. 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 / Middle French entrance / entrance

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