Etymograph

English

fyrd

Fyrd comes from Old English fierd ‘army, military’, 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. 450–1150fierd5as fyrd‘army, military’
  6. Englishtodayfyrd5

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 fyrd

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 fyrdas fyrd‘army, military’
  6. EnglishtodayfyrdWiktionary, English fyrd

Linked words

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

first, before, support, far, per, report, further, price, private, press, practice, fear, opportunity, pre, primary, prior, prime, appreciate, port, prize, pregnant, practical, forth, precious, praise, afford, interpretation, privilege, parade, par, ford, ferry, pirate, porch, primitive, prix, interpreter, pardon, pragmatic, privy, 154 more

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

fare, 6 more

through Old English fierd ‘army, military’

ferd

Today it means

noun In early Anglo-Saxon times, an army that was mobilized from freemen to defend their shire, or from select representatives to join a royal expedition.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “fyrd”; 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- / fyrd

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