English
feretory
Feretory comes from Latin feretrum ‘bier, funeral litter’, from Ancient Greek φέρω ‘to carry’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰer-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰer-1‘to bear, carry’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰéreti2‘to be carrying’reconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*pʰérō2‘to bear’reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEφέρω3phérō‘to carry’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEφέρετρον3phéretron‘bier’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEferetrum3‘bier, funeral litter’
- Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400fertre3
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500feretory3
- Englishearliest quotation 2020feretory3
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *bʰéreti
- 2 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek φέρω
- 3 Wiktionary, English feretory
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2020, Hilary Mantel, The Mirror and the Light: “His remains were placed inside a new and rich…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰer-Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *bʰéreti‘to bear, carry’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰéretiWiktionary, Ancient Greek φέρω‘to be carrying’reconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*pʰérōWiktionary, Ancient Greek φέρω‘to bear’reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEφέρωWiktionary, English feretoryphérō‘to carry’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEφέρετρονWiktionary, English feretoryphéretron‘bier’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEferetrumWiktionary, English feretory‘bier, funeral litter’
- Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400fertreWiktionary, English feretory
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500feretoryWiktionary, English feretory
- Englishearliest quotation 2020feretoryWiktionary, English feretory. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2020, Hilary Mantel, The Mirror and the Light: “His remains were placed inside a new and rich…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *bʰer- ‘to bear, carry’
bar, birth, broad, bread, burden, bearing, suffering, fortune, barn, barrel, prefer, baron, bark, differently, fury, breeze, bore, broom, barrow, embargo, berth, differentiation, indifferent, infertility, fret, infertile, insufferable, furtive, deference, bahar, bier, ferret, differentially, birr, bairn, burnish, differentiable, deferential, proffer, barrette, 113 more
through Proto-Indo-European *bʰéreti ‘to be carrying’
different, bear, offer, difference, translation, transfer, relative, reference, relation, extraordinary, suffer, relate, frustration, translate, strangely, differ, referendum, fertility, borne, extravagant, referee, fertile, frustrate, elated, infra, confer, extraneous, fertilization, ablation, defer, infer, elation, strangeness, collation, dilate, collate, ablative, fertilize, oblate, estrange, 102 more
through Ancient Greek φέρω ‘to carry’
phosphate, phosphorus, euphoria, dysphoria, semaphore, phosphine, 22 more
Today it means
noun A receptacle that houses relics of saints.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “feretory”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Indo-European *bʰéreti, Ancient Greek φέρω. 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 *bʰer- / feretory