cartridge

Etymology

It is an alteration of the earlier cartage,^[2][3][4][5] itself borrowed from Middle French cartouche (“a full charge for a pistol wrapped in paper”) in a corrupted form,^[6][3][4][2] from Italian cartoccio (“roll or cornet of paper”),^[6][3][7] an augmentative of carta (“paper”),^[6][3] from Medieval Latin carta, Latin charta (“paper”),^[6][2] the source of card and chart.^[3][2] Barnhart and the American Heritage Dictionary give the Italian word as cartuccia or cartuccio, a variant of cartoccio.^[2][8] Weekley quotes Florio's gloss of cartoccio, "a coffin of paper", and Cotgrave's of cartouche, a full charge for a pistol "put up within a little paper, to be the readier for use".^[9][6] The idea is of a roll of paper holding a charge for a firearm.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

A case holding the exact charge of powder for a firearm: 1579, in the Digges' Stratioticos,^[6] where Barnhart and Etymonline read the form cartage.^[2][3] The modern spelling cartridge is recorded from 1626, in Captain John Smith,^[2][4] or the 1620s in Etymonline.^[3]

Semantic evolution

The case could be of paper, parchment, pasteboard, flannel or metal;^[6] Johnson (1755) still defined it as a case of paper or parchment filled with gunpowder, giving both cartrage and cartridge.^[6][10] The cartridge belt is recorded by 1832.^[3] From 1611 to 1756 the word was also used in architecture for a cartouche, an ornament like a scroll or a tablet.^[6] Weekley explains cartridge paper as the stiff, rough paper first used for cartridges.^[9] In the 20th century the word spread to other small containers inserted into a larger device:^[3] a spool of film (1918), a container of chemicals (1920), the pick-up of a record player (1941), an ink refill for a pen (1945), the ink or toner container of a printer (1957) and a tape cassette (1960).^[6]

Timeline

• 1579 – a case holding a charge for a firearm (as cartage).^[6][2]
• 1611 – in architecture, a cartouche (obsolete by 1756).^[6]
• 1626 – the spelling cartridge, in John Smith.^[2][4]
• 1673 – transferred and figurative use.^[6]
• 1832 – cartridge belt.^[3]
• 1918 – a spool of film in a light-proof container.^[6]
• 1941 – the pick-up of a record player.^[6]
• 1945 – an ink refill for a pen.^[6]
• 1957 – an ink or toner container for a printer.^[6]
• 1960 – a tape cassette.^[6]

Meanings

Noun

1. A case, now usually of metal, holding the propellant charge and often the bullet or shot for a firearm: He loaded two cartridges into the shotgun.^[5][4][6]
2. A case holding an explosive charge for blasting.^[5][4]
3. A replaceable container that fits into a larger device, such as one holding ink or toner for a printer or ink for a fountain pen.^[4][6]
4. The part of a record player's pick-up that turns the movements of the stylus into electrical signals.^[5][6]
5. A container of magnetic tape or film inserted into a player or camera.^[5][6]

Word family

• blank cartridge
• cartridge belt
• cartridge brass
• cartridge clip
• tape cartridge

Related words

• cartouche
• card
• chart
• carton
• cartoon
• charter

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c d e f g Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b c d e Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
9. ^ a b Weekley, Ernest (1921), An Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, London: John Murray
10. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.