Etymograph

English

iron

Iron comes from Old English īren, īsern, from Proto-Germanic *īsarną ‘iron’, borrowed from Proto-Celtic *īsarnom ‘iron’.

  1. Proto-Celticc. 1300–800 BCE*īsarnom1reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*īsarną1reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*īsarn1reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150īsern1‘the metal iron’
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150īren1
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500iren1‘iron’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1814iron1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English iron
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1814, Walter Scott: “[...] is it he who is ironed like a…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Celticc. 1300–800 BCE*īsarnomWiktionary, English ironreconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*īsarnąWiktionary, English ironreconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*īsarnWiktionary, English ironreconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150īsernWiktionary, English iron‘the metal iron’
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150īrenWiktionary, English iron
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500irenWiktionary, English iron‘iron’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1814ironWiktionary, English iron. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1814, Walter Scott: “[...] is it he who is ironed like a…”

Linked words

through Old English īsern ‘the metal iron’

ire

Today it means

noun A common, inexpensive metal, silvery grey when untarnished, that rusts, is attracted by magnets, and is used in making steel: a chemical element having atomic number 26 and symbol Fe.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “iron”. 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-Celtic *īsarnom / iron

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