Etymograph

English

harm

Harm comes from Old English hearm, from Proto-West Germanic *harm, from Proto-Germanic *harmaz ‘harm, shame, pain’.

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*harmaz1‘harm’reconstructed
  2. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*harm1‘harm’reconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150hearm1‘harm, injury’
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500harm1‘harm’
  5. Englishearliest quotation c. 1606–1607harm1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English harm
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1606–1607, William Shakespeare, The Tragedie of Anthonie and Cleopatra: “We, ignorant of ourselves, / Beg often our own…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*harmazWiktionary, English harm‘harm’reconstructed
  2. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*harmWiktionary, English harm‘harm’reconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150hearmWiktionary, English harm‘harm, injury’
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500harmWiktionary, English harm‘harm’
  5. Englishearliest quotation c. 1606–1607harmWiktionary, English harm. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1606–1607, William Shakespeare, The Tragedie of Anthonie and Cleopatra: “We, ignorant of ourselves, / Beg often our own…”

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Today it means

noun Physical injury; hurt; damage.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “harm”. 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-Germanic *harmaz / harm