Etymograph

English

kasern

Kasern comes from German Kaserne ‘barracks’, from Latin quaternus ‘four each’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kʷetwóres.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kʷetwóres1‘four’reconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEquater1‘four times’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEquaternus2as quaterna‘four each’
  4. Old Occitanc. 950–1500cazerna2
  5. Frenchc. 1600–presentcaserne3‘barracks’
  6. Germanc. 1650–presentKaserne4‘barracks’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1977kasern4

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin quaternus
  2. 2 Wiktionary, French caserne
  3. 3 Wiktionary, German Kaserne
  4. 4 Wiktionary, English kasern
  5. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1977, United States House Committee on Interna, Subcommittee on Europe and the Middle East: “Second, an agreement focusing on manpower is inherently unverifiable,…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kʷetwóresWiktionary, Latin quaternus‘four’reconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEquaterWiktionary, Latin quaternus‘four times’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEquaternusWiktionary, French caserneas quaterna‘four each’
  4. Old Occitanc. 950–1500cazernaWiktionary, French caserne
  5. Frenchc. 1600–presentcaserneWiktionary, German Kaserne‘barracks’
  6. Germanc. 1650–presentKaserneWiktionary, English kasern‘barracks’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1977kasernWiktionary, English kasern. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1977, United States House Committee on Interna, Subcommittee on Europe and the Middle East: “Second, an agreement focusing on manpower is inherently unverifiable,…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *kʷetwóres ‘four’

fourth, quarry, cater, farthing, quatre, cuatro, tetrad, quatrain, ferd, 17 more

through Latin quaternus ‘four each’

kern, carillon, quire, 4 more

Today it means

noun A military barracks, especially of the US military, in Germany.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “kasern”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin quaternus, French caserne, German Kaserne. 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 *kʷetwóres / kasern

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