English
park
Park comes from Middle English park, from Old French parc ‘livestock pen’, from Medieval Latin parcus, from Frankish *parruk ‘enclosure’.
- Frankishc. 250–700*parruk1‘enclosure, pen, fence’reconstructed
- Medieval Latinc. 600–1500parcus1
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400parc1‘livestock pen’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500park1‘enclosure’
- Englishearliest quotation 1591park1
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English park
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1591, William Shakespeare, The First Part of Henry the Sixt: “O, negligent and heedless discipline! How are we park'd…”.
Lineage
- Frankishc. 250–700*parrukWiktionary, English park‘enclosure, pen, fence’reconstructed
- Medieval Latinc. 600–1500parcusWiktionary, English park
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400parcWiktionary, English park‘livestock pen’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500parkWiktionary, English park‘enclosure’
- Englishearliest quotation 1591parkWiktionary, English park. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1591, William Shakespeare, The First Part of Henry the Sixt: “O, negligent and heedless discipline! How are we park'd…”
Word family
English words that share an ancestor with park, grouped by the ancestor they share, most familiar first.
through Old French parc ‘livestock pen’
- parquet ← parc ← parc
Explore everything descended from *parruk →
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Today it means
noun A tract of ground kept in its natural state, about or adjacent to a residence, such as for the preservation of game, for walking, riding, or the like.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “park”. 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 / Frankish *parruk / park