Etymograph

English

patrol

Patrol comes from Old French patrouille, from Vulgar Latin *patta ‘paw, foot’, and perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pent- ‘to pass’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pent-1‘to pass’uncertain
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)pent-1uncertainvariant of *pent-
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*paþjaną1reconstructed
  4. Frankishc. 250–700*patta1‘paw, sole of the foot’reconstructed
  5. Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*patta1‘paw, foot’reconstructed
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400patrouille1
  7. Frenchc. 1600–presentpatrouille1
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1899patrol1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English patrol
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1899, Louis Becke, Walter Jeffery: “The watch consisted of twelve convicts—men selected for their…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pent-Wiktionary, English patrol‘to pass’uncertain
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)pent-Wiktionary, English patroluncertainvariant of *pent-
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*paþjanąWiktionary, English patrolreconstructed
  4. Frankishc. 250–700*pattaWiktionary, English patrol‘paw, sole of the foot’reconstructed
  5. Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*pattaWiktionary, English patrol‘paw, foot’reconstructed
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400patrouilleWiktionary, English patrol
  7. Frenchc. 1600–presentpatrouilleWiktionary, English patrol
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1899patrolWiktionary, English patrol. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1899, Louis Becke, Walter Jeffery: “The watch consisted of twelve convicts—men selected for their…”

The story

From French patrouille, from Old French patrouille, patouille (“a night-watch”, literally “a tramping about”), from patrouiller, patouiller, patoiller (‘to paddle or pudder in water, dabble with the feet, begrime, besmear’), from patte, pate (‘paw, foot of an animal’), from Vulgar Latin *patta (‘paw, foot’), from Frankish *patta (‘paw, sole of the foot’), from Proto-Germanic *paþjaną, *paþōną (‘to walk, tread, go, step, pace’), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *(s)pent-, *(s)pat- (‘path; to walk’), a variant of Proto-Indo-European *pent-, *pat- (‘path; to go’); see find.

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *pent- ‘to pass’

find, path, pad, faze, pontiff, sputnik, pontoon, pontifical, pons, pontifex, 14 more

through Vulgar Latin *patta ‘paw, foot’

patten, panton, 1 more

Another origin of patrol

  1. Old Frenchc. 842–1400patrouiller‘to paddle, paw about, patrol’
  2. Frenchc. 1600–presentpatrouiller‘to patrol’
  3. Englishtodaypatrol

Today it means

noun A going of the rounds along the chain of sentinels and between the posts, by a guard, usually consisting of three or four men, to insure greater security from attacks on the outposts.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “patrol”. 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 *pent- / patrol

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