Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “garnish” come from?

Garnish comes from Middle English garnischen, from Old French garnir, from Frankish warnjan, ultimately from Frankish warnon.

garnish (English): To decorate with ornaments; to adorn; to...

Definitions

  1. To decorate with ornaments; to adorn; to...

Ancestry of “garnish”, step by step

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

Words derived from “garnish”

  • garnishment
  • garnishee
  • garnishor
  • disgarnish
  • ungarnish
Every word from Proto-Indo-European wer- →