Etymograph

English

ferd

Ferd comes from Middle English ferde ‘military expedition’, from Proto-West Germanic *fardi ‘journey, voyage’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *per- ‘going, passage’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*per-1‘going, passage’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*faraną2‘to go, travel’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*fardiz3‘journey, voyage’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*fardi4‘journey, voyage’reconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150fierd5‘army, military’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500ferde5‘military expedition’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1775ferd5

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *faraną
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *fardiz
  3. 3 Wiktionary, Proto-West Germanic *fardi
  4. 4 Wiktionary, Old English fierd
  5. 5 Wiktionary, English ferd
  6. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1775, Baillie: “It was our great desire to have at once…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*per-Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *faraną‘going, passage’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*faranąWiktionary, Proto-Germanic *fardiz‘to go, travel’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*fardizWiktionary, Proto-West Germanic *fardi‘journey, voyage’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*fardiWiktionary, Old English fierd‘journey, voyage’reconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150fierdWiktionary, English ferd‘army, military’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500ferdeWiktionary, English ferd‘military expedition’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1775ferdWiktionary, English ferd. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1775, Baillie: “It was our great desire to have at once…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *per- ‘going, passage’

first, before, support, far, report, price, private, press, practice, further, per, opportunity, pre, primary, prior, prime, appreciate, port, prize, pregnant, fear, practical, forth, precious, praise, afford, privilege, parade, par, ford, interpretation, pirate, porch, primitive, prix, pardon, pragmatic, privy, prism, proton, 155 more

through Proto-Germanic *faraną ‘to go, travel’

fare, 7 more

Today it means

noun A journey; a voyage.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “ferd”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Germanic *faraną, Proto-Germanic *fardiz, Proto-West Germanic *fardi, Old English fierd. 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 *per- / ferd

Shirt and support for this word