Etymograph

English

harry

Harry comes from Old English herġian ‘to pillage’, from Proto-Germanic *harjōną ‘to overrun with an army’, from *harjaz ‘army’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ker-1‘army’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*koryos1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*harjaz1‘army’reconstructed
  4. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*harjōną1‘to overrun with an army’reconstructed
  5. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*harjōn1‘to overrun with an army’reconstructed
  6. Old Englishc. 450–1150herġian1‘to pillage’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500herien1‘to ruin’
  8. Englishearliest quotation c. 1606–1607harry1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English harry
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1606–1607, William Shakespeare, The Tragedie of Anthonie and Cleopatra: “I repent me much , That so I harry'd…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ker-Wiktionary, English harry‘army’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*koryosWiktionary, English harryreconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*harjazWiktionary, English harry‘army’reconstructed
  4. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*harjōnąWiktionary, English harry‘to overrun with an army’reconstructed
  5. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*harjōnWiktionary, English harry‘to overrun with an army’reconstructed
  6. Old Englishc. 450–1150herġianWiktionary, English harry‘to pillage’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500herienWiktionary, English harry‘to ruin’
  8. Englishearliest quotation c. 1606–1607harryWiktionary, English harry. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1606–1607, William Shakespeare, The Tragedie of Anthonie and Cleopatra: “I repent me much , That so I harry'd…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *ker- ‘army’

rugby, caravan, rout, croup, roop, 5 more

Today it means

verb To plunder, pillage, assault.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “harry”. 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 *ker- / harry

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