Etymograph

English

gar

Gar comes from Middle English gare.

  1. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500gare1
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1907gar1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English gar
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1907, O. Henry, The Princess and the Puma: “A great gar plunged with a loud splash into…”.

Earlier history not traced here. See Wiktionary.

Lineage

  1. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500gareWiktionary, English gar
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1907garWiktionary, English gar. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1907, O. Henry, The Princess and the Puma: “A great gar plunged with a loud splash into…”

Every English word from Middle English gare

Another origin of gar

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*garwaz‘ready, prepared’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*garwijaną‘to prepare’reconstructed
  3. Old Norsec. 800–1350gera‘to do, make’
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500garren
  5. Englishtodaygar

Today it means

noun Any of several North American fish of the family Lepisosteidae that have long, narrow jaws.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “gar”. 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 English gare / gar

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