Etymograph

English

reguerdon

Reguerdon comes from Latin dōnum ‘gift’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *deh₃- ‘to give’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*deh₃-1‘to give’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*déh₃nom1‘gift’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*dōnom1‘gift, present’reconstructed
  4. Archaic Latinc. 700–75 BCEdōnom1
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdōnum2‘gift’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1591reguerdon2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin donum
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English reguerdon
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1591, William Shakespeare, The First Part of Henry the Sixt: “Long since we were resolved of your truth, /…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*deh₃-Wiktionary, Latin donum‘to give’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*déh₃nomWiktionary, Latin donum‘gift’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*dōnomWiktionary, Latin donum‘gift, present’reconstructed
  4. Archaic Latinc. 700–75 BCEdōnomWiktionary, Latin donum
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdōnumWiktionary, English reguerdon‘gift’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1591reguerdonWiktionary, English reguerdon. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1591, William Shakespeare, The First Part of Henry the Sixt: “Long since we were resolved of your truth, /…”

The story

From Anglo-Norman reguerdoner (‘to reward’), from re- + guerdoner (‘to guerdon’), from Medieval Latin widerdōnum, alteration of widerlōnum, from West Germanic (whence Old High German widarlōn, Old English wiþerlēan), literally ‘back-payment’, with the second element assimilated to Latin dōnum (‘gift’).

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *deh₃- ‘to give’

data, date, add, die, addition, rent, tradition, delicious, dose, vent, surrender, vendor, donor, treason, render, dow, additive, rendezvous, rendition, antidote, anecdote, dowry, addendum, dowager, dative, endow, dacha, dati, dower, perdition, sconce, 38 more

through Proto-Italic *dōnom ‘gift, present’

donate, condone, 6 more

through Latin dōnum ‘gift’

donation, 2 more

Today it means

verb To recompense or reward.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “reguerdon”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin donum. 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 *deh₃- / reguerdon

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