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chronicle

Etymology and origin of the English word chronicle

History

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈkɹɒnɪkəl/ (UK); /ˈkɹɑnɪkl̩/ (US)[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English cronicle,[2][3][4][5][6] borrowed from Anglo-Norman cronicle,[2][3][4][5][6] an alteration of Old French cronique,[2][3][4][6] from Latin chronica,[2][3][4][5][6] from Greek khroniká (biblía) “annals, chronological books”,[2][3][4] neuter plural of khronikós “of time”, from khrónos “time”.[3][4][6] The Latin neuter plural was mistaken for a feminine singular.[4] The ending -icle may have come in Anglo-French on the model of words like article.[3][4] The classical h was restored in English in the 16th century.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

A detailed and continuous register of events in the order of time, a historical record (1303).[7][3][4]

Semantic evolution

Old English had its own borrowing cranic for a chronicle.[4] By about 1380 the word was used more generally of any record, register or narrative account.[7] From 1535 Chronicles was the name of two historical books of the Old Testament.[7][2] It became a common newspaper title.[7][1] The verb, to record in a chronicle, appears about 1400,[3][4][7] and chronicler before 1420.[3]

Timeline

  • 1303 – kronikel, a historical record.[7][3]
  • c. 1380 – any record or account.[7]
  • about 1400 – verb, to record in a chronicle.[3][4]
  • before 1420 – chronicler.[3]
  • 1535 – Chronicles, books of the Bible.[7]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. An extended account of historical events in order of time, usually without analysis or interpretation.
  2. A detailed narrative record or report.
  3. Chronicles: either of two historical books of the Old Testament.

Verb

  1. To record in or as in a chronicle.

Word family

  • chronicler
  • unchronicled
  • chronicler
  • Chronicles
  • chronology
  • chronological
  • chronic
  • chronometer
  • anachronism

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b c d e Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Chronicle.” Etymologically, 10 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/chronicle. Accessed 11 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·