Etymograph

English

hardship

Hardship comes from Old English heard ‘hard, harsh, austere, severe, rigorous, stern,…’, and perhaps goes back to Proto-Indo-European *kret- ‘strong, powerful’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kret-1‘strong, powerful’uncertain
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kort-ús1uncertain
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*harduz2‘hard’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*hard(ī)2‘hard’reconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150heard2‘hard, harsh, austere, severe, rigorous, stern, stubborn, firm, hardy, brave’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500hard3
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500hardshipe4
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1962hardship4

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *harduz, which cites Kroonen, Orel
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Middle English hard
  3. 3 Wiktionary, Middle English hardshipe
  4. 4 Wiktionary, English hardship
  5. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1962, Dr. Beeching previews the plan for British Railways: “If train services of this kind were to be…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kret-Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *harduz, which cites Kroonen, Orel‘strong, powerful’uncertain
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kort-úsWiktionary, Proto-Germanic *harduz, which cites Kroonen, Oreluncertain
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*harduzWiktionary, Middle English hard‘hard’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*hard(ī)Wiktionary, Middle English hard‘hard’reconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150heardWiktionary, Middle English hard‘hard, harsh, austere, severe, rigorous, stern, stubborn, firm, hardy, brave’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500hardWiktionary, Middle English hardshipe
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500hardshipeWiktionary, English hardship
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1962hardshipWiktionary, English hardship. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1962, Dr. Beeching previews the plan for British Railways: “If train services of this kind were to be…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *kret- ‘strong, powerful’

rather, bureaucracy, bureaucratic, aristocracy, 43 more

through Proto-West Germanic *hard(ī) ‘hard’

harden, 2 more

through Old English heard ‘hard, harsh, austere, severe, rigorous, stern,…’

hardly, hardness, 2 more

Today it means

noun Difficulty or trouble; hard times.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “hardship”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Germanic *harduz, Middle English hard, Middle English hardshipe. 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 *kret- / hardship

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