Etymograph

English

pawn

Pawn comes from Anglo-Norman peon ‘footman’, from Late Latin pedō ‘pedestrian’, from Latin pēs ‘foot’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ped- ‘to walk’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ped-1‘to walk, to step’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pṓds1‘foot’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*pets1‘foot’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpēs1‘foot’
  5. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEpedō1‘pedestrian’
  6. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400peon1‘footman’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500pown1
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1595pawn1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English pawn
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1595, The Life and Death of King Richard the Second: “Redeem from broking pawn the blemish'd crown.”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ped-Wiktionary, English pawn‘to walk, to step’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pṓdsWiktionary, English pawn‘foot’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*petsWiktionary, English pawn‘foot’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpēsWiktionary, English pawn‘foot’
  5. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEpedōWiktionary, English pawn‘pedestrian’
  6. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400peonWiktionary, English pawn‘footman’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500pownWiktionary, English pawn
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1595pawnWiktionary, English pawn. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1595, The Life and Death of King Richard the Second: “Redeem from broking pawn the blemish'd crown.”

Word family

English words that share an ancestor with pawn, grouped by the ancestor they share, most familiar first.

through Old French pan ‘bit’

Explore everything descended from *ped- →

Another origin of pawn

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ped-‘to walk, to step’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pṓds‘foot’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*pets‘foot’reconstructed
  4. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEpedōnem‘pedestrian’
  5. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400poun‘footman’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500pown‘pawn (chess piece)’
  7. Englishtodaypawn

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Today it means

noun The state of being held as security for a loan, or as a pledge.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “pawn”. 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 *ped- / pawn