Etymograph

English

martel

Martel comes from Old French martel ‘hammer (tool)’, and perhaps goes back to Proto-Indo-European *melh₂-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*melh₂-1root named by Wiktionary
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmartulus1uncertain
  3. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEmartellus1‘hammer’
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400martel1‘hammer (tool)’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500martel1
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1590martel1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English martel
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1590, Edmund Spenser, Book III, Canto VII: “Her dreadfull weapon she to him addrest, Which on…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*melh₂-Wiktionary, English martelroot named by Wiktionary
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmartulusWiktionary, English marteluncertain
  3. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEmartellusWiktionary, English martel‘hammer’
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400martelWiktionary, English martel‘hammer (tool)’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500martelWiktionary, English martel
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1590martelWiktionary, English martel. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1590, Edmund Spenser, Book III, Canto VII: “Her dreadfull weapon she to him addrest, Which on…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *melh₂-

miller, meal, mill, mild, mold, mole, mould, mule, muller, camo, bonanza, mullet, mull, melatonin, molar, moulin, malleable, amalgam, moline, maelstrom, amyl, malm, 39 more

Today it means

noun A hammer, especially a war hammer.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “martel”. 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 *melh₂- / martel

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