Where does “blackguardery” come from?
blackguardery (English) comes from English blackguard, from English guard, from Middle English garde, from Old French guarde, from Old French guarder, from Frankish wardēn, from Proto-Germanic wardāną, from Proto-Germanic *warduz — to burn; to cover, heed, notice; squirrel.
Ancestry of “blackguardery”, step by step
blackguardery traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English blackguard
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | blackguard | A scoundrel; an unprincipled contemptible person;... |
| 2 | English | guard | A person who, or thing that, protects or watches... |
| 3 | Middle English | garde | guardianship, safeguarding, covering, authority;... |
| 4 | Old French | guarde | protection; act of protecting; guard; inflection... |
| 5 | Old French | guarder | to protect; to guard; to look at |
| 6 | Frankish | wardēn | to protect; to guard, protect, watch over; to... |
| 7 | Proto-Germanic | wardāną | to guard, protect, watch over |
| 8 | Proto-Germanic | *warduz | — |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | wēr- | true |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | wer- | to burn; to cover, heed, notice; squirrel |
via English ery
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | ery | — |