Etymograph

English

guerdon

Guerdon comes from Old French guerdon, from Latin dōnum ‘gift’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *deh₃- ‘to give’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*deh₃-1‘to give’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*déh₃nom1‘gift’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*dōnom1‘gift, present’reconstructed
  4. Archaic Latinc. 700–75 BCEdōnom1
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdōnum2‘gift’
  6. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500widerdōnum2
  7. Old Frenchc. 842–1400guerdon2
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500guerdon2
  9. Englishearliest quotation c. 1366guerdon2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin donum
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English guerdon
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1366, Geoffrey Chaucer, The Romaunt of the Rose: “For would she of her gentlenesse, Withouten more, me…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*deh₃-Wiktionary, Latin donum‘to give’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*déh₃nomWiktionary, Latin donum‘gift’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*dōnomWiktionary, Latin donum‘gift, present’reconstructed
  4. Archaic Latinc. 700–75 BCEdōnomWiktionary, Latin donum
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdōnumWiktionary, English guerdon‘gift’
  6. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500widerdōnumWiktionary, English guerdon
  7. Old Frenchc. 842–1400guerdonWiktionary, English guerdon
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500guerdonWiktionary, English guerdon
  9. Englishearliest quotation c. 1366guerdonWiktionary, English guerdon. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1366, Geoffrey Chaucer, The Romaunt of the Rose: “For would she of her gentlenesse, Withouten more, me…”

The story

From Middle English guerdon, guerdoun, gardone, from Old French guerdon, guerredon, guarredon, werdon, from Medieval Latin widerdōnum, alteration of widerlōnum, from West Germanic (whence Old High German widarlōn, Old English wiþerlēan), literally ‘back-payment’, with the second element assimilated to Latin dōnum (‘gift’).

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *deh₃- ‘to give’

data, date, add, die, addition, rent, delicious, tradition, dose, surrender, vent, treason, vendor, render, donor, additive, dow, rendezvous, rendition, antidote, anecdote, addendum, dowry, dowager, dative, endow, dacha, dati, perdition, dower, sconce, 38 more

through Proto-Italic *dōnom ‘gift, present’

donate, condone, 6 more

through Latin dōnum ‘gift’

donation, 2 more

Today it means

noun A reward, prize or recompense for a service; an accolade.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “guerdon”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin donum. 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 *deh₃- / guerdon

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