Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “garment” come from?

Garment comes from Middle English garment, from Old French guarnement, combining Old French -ment with Latin -mentum and Latin mens, ultimately derived from Proto-Indo-European men-.

garment (English): A single item of clothing; Short for temple...

Definitions

  1. A single item of clothing; Short for temple...

Ancestry of “garment”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishgarment—
2Old Frenchgarnementgarment; piece of clothing
3Old Frenchguarnirto protect; to arm; to armor
4Frankishwarnijanto ward, take care of; to ward, take care of...
5Proto-Germanicwarnijanąto care, worry; to worry, care, heed; to worry,...
6Proto-Indo-Europeanwēr-true
7Proto-Indo-Europeanwer-to burn; to cover, heed, notice; squirrel

Words derived from “garment”

  • undergarment
  • garmented
  • garmenture
  • garmentless
  • ungarmented
  • ungarment
  • nethergarment
  • undergarments
Every word from Proto-Indo-European wer- →