English
garth
Garth comes from Middle English garth ‘a garth’, from Old Norse garðr ‘an enclosed space, yard’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gʰerdʰ-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʰerdʰ-1‘enclosure, fence, belt’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʰórdʰos1‘hedge, fence’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*gardaz1‘enclosure’reconstructed
- Old Norsec. 800–1350garðr1‘an enclosed space, yard’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500garth1‘a garth’
- Englishearliest quotation 1847garth1
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English garth
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1847, Alfred Tennyson, Part 2: “A clapper clapping in a garth / To scare…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʰerdʰ-Wiktionary, English garth‘enclosure, fence, belt’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʰórdʰosWiktionary, English garth‘hedge, fence’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*gardazWiktionary, English garth‘enclosure’reconstructed
- Old Norsec. 800–1350garðrWiktionary, English garth‘an enclosed space, yard’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500garthWiktionary, English garth‘a garth’
- Englishearliest quotation 1847garthWiktionary, English garth. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1847, Alfred Tennyson, Part 2: “A clapper clapping in a garth / To scare…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *gʰerdʰ- ‘enclosure, fence, belt’
girdle, hangar, jardin, gord, girth, gird, 10 more
through Proto-Indo-European *gʰórdʰos ‘hedge, fence’
through Proto-Germanic *gardaz ‘enclosure’
Today it means
noun A grassy quadrangle surrounded by cloisters.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “garth”. 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 *gʰerdʰ- / garth