Where does “char” come from?

char (Middle French) comes from Old French charn, from Latin carnem, from Latin carō, from Proto-Italic karō, from Proto-Indo-European ḱer-, from Proto-Indo-European kr̥-, from Proto-Indo-European ker- — army.

char (Middle French): flesh

Definitions

  1. flesh

Ancestry of “char”, step by step

char traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Old French charn

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old FrenchcharnAlternative form of char
2Latincarnemaccusative singular of carō
3Latincarōflesh, meat of an animal
4Proto-Italickarōpiece, portion; meat
5Proto-Indo-Europeanḱer-to grow, to make grow, to nourish; to plait,...
6Proto-Indo-Europeankr̥-to turn, to bend
7Proto-Indo-Europeanker-army

via Old French char

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Frenchcharflesh; meat; cart
2Latincarrusa wagon, a four-wheeled baggage cart; a cartload,...
3Gaulishkarroswagon
4Proto-Celtickarroswagon
5Proto-Indo-Europeanḱr̥sósvehicle
6Proto-Indo-Europeanḱers-to run
Every word from Proto-Indo-European ker-