Etymologically
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ash

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English has two words spelled ash, which Word Origins notes started out as two completely different words: the powdery remains of fire, from Old English æsce, and the tree, from Old English æsc.[1][2][3]

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈæʃ/[4]

ash1 remains of burning

Etymology

It is Middle English asshe, inherited from Old English æsċe (“ash”), asce,[2][3][5] from Proto-Germanic *askǭ,[3] source also of Old Norse aska, German Asche and Gothic azgo, ashes,[3][2] from PIE Proto-Indo-European *as- (“to burn, glow”),[3] perhaps akin to Latin ārēre, to be dry.[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The powdery remains of burning: before 800 in Barnhart.[2]

Semantic evolution

Ashes as the mortal remains of a person, from the ancient custom of cremation, is from the late 13th century.[3] As a symbol of grief or repentance it gave Ash Wednesday (about 1300), from the custom of sprinkling ashes on penitents' heads on the first day of Lent.[3] Fine lava thrown out by a volcano is from the 1660s.[3] In cricket, the Ashes is the trophy of the Test series between England and Australia.[6][7]

Timeline

  • before 800 – ash.[2]
  • late 13th century – a person's remains.[3]
  • c. 1300 – Ash Wednesday.[3]
  • 1660s – volcanic ash.[3]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. The powdery residue left after something has burned.
  2. (ashes) The remains of a human body after cremation.
  3. Fine particles of lava from a volcano.

Word family

  • ashen
  • ashtray
  • ashy
  • Ash Wednesday

ash2 tree

Etymology

It is Middle English asshe, inherited from Old English æsċ (“ash tree; spear”),[2][3][8][5] from Proto-Germanic *askiz,[8][3] source also of Old Norse askr, Old Saxon ask and German Esche,[3][8] related to Latin ornus (“wild mountain ash”), Russian jasen' and Lithuanian uosis.[3][8][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The forest tree, Fraxinus: about 700 in the OED.[9]

Semantic evolution

The tough, elastic wood was preferred for spear-shafts, so Old English æsc sometimes meant a spear, especially in poetry, as in æsc-plega, war, literally spear-play.[3][9][2] Æsc was also the name of the runic letter that begins the word.[3] The wood itself is from about 1380.[9] Various herbs with pinnate leaves were locally called ash from 1552.[9]

Timeline

  • c. 700 – the tree.[9]
  • before 1000 – a spear (obsolete).[9]
  • c. 1380 – ash wood.[9]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A tree of the genus Fraxinus, of the olive family, with compound leaves and winged fruits.
  2. The tough, light-coloured wood of this tree.

Word family

  • mountain ash
  • ardent
  • arid

References

  1. ^ Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  5. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
  7. ^ Soanes, Catherine; Stevenson, Angus, eds. (2004), Concise Oxford English Dictionary, 11th ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  8. ^ a b c d Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  9. ^ a b c d e f g Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press