Where does “charter” come from?
charter (Middle English) comes from Old French chartre, from Latin chartula, from Latin charta, from French cartel, from Italian cartello, from Italian carta, from Latin carta, from Ancient Greek χάρτης — to yearn for; to enclose; bowels, intestines.
Ancestry of “charter”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Old French | chartre | charter; covenant; written agreement; record;... |
| 2 | Latin | chartula | Diminutive of charta a little paper; memorandum |
| 3 | Latin | charta | papyrus, paper; poem, a writing; map |
| 4 | French | cartel | a cartel |
| 5 | Italian | cartello | sign, notice, placard, signboard; signpost, road... |
| 6 | Italian | carta | paper; map; menu |
| 7 | Latin | carta | papyrus; letter etc |
| 8 | Ancient Greek | χάρτης | sheet of paper, paper; book |
| 9 | Ancient Greek | χαράσσω | to sharpen; to engrave, carve, write, draw, stamp |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | ǵʰer- | to yearn for; to enclose; bowels, intestines |