Etymologically
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crown

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /kraʊn/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English coroune, croune,[2][3] borrowed from Anglo-Norman coroune, Old North French curune, Old French corone (modern couronne),[4][5] and directly from Latin corōna (“crown; originally wreath, garland”),[2][4][6] from Ancient Greek κορώνη (korṓnē, “anything curved, kind of crown”).[2][4][3] Old English used corona, directly from Latin.[2][5] Watkins derives it from Proto-Indo-European *sker- (“to turn, bend”),[2] and Barnhart and Hoad relate it to Latin curvus “bent”, the source of curve;[4][5] Beekes takes the sense from the identical Greek korōnē “crow”, used of all kinds of hooked objects.[2] Middle English had both coroune and the shortened crune, but only crown survived after the 1500s.[4] It is a doublet of corona.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The royal crown: 1085 in the OED,[7] 1111 in Barnhart, as coronan,[4] the early 12th century in Etymonline.[2] The wreath of a victor: about 1175.[7]

Semantic evolution

The Greek crown was a laurel branch or a wreath of flowers bent around the head of a victor or official.[6] Figuratively, regal power is from about 1200,[2] and the monarch in an official capacity, the Crown, from 1579.[7] The top of the head is from about 1300,[2][5] the tonsure in the 13th century,[5] a crowning honour from the late 14th century,[2] and the top of anything in the 16th century.[5] Coins bearing a crown are from the late 14th century in Etymonline and the 15th in Hoad, especially the British five-shilling piece;[2][5] the name is also used for the money of Sweden, Norway and Denmark.[2] The top of a hat is from the 1670s, and the part of a tooth above the gum from 1804.[2] The verb, to place a crown on, is from about 1175,[7][4] to invest with royal dignity from about 1290,[7] and crowning, completing, from 1651.[4][2]

Timeline

  • 1085 – a royal crown.[7]
  • c. 1175 – a victor's wreath; verb.[7]
  • c. 1200 – regal power.[2]
  • c. 1290 – verb, to make king.[7]
  • c. 1300 – the top of the head.[2]
  • late 14th century – a coin; an honour.[2]
  • 1579 – the monarch, the Crown.[7]
  • 1670s – the top of a hat.[2]
  • 1804 – the crown of a tooth.[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. An ornamental headdress, often of gold set with jewels, worn by a monarch as a symbol of sovereignty.
  2. the Crown: the monarch, or the power of a monarchy or state.
  3. A wreath or garland worn on the head as a sign of victory or honour; a championship title.
  4. The top of the head, or the top part of a hat, hill or other thing.
  5. The part of a tooth above the gum, or an artificial cover for it.
  6. A coin, especially a former British coin worth five shillings.

Verb

  1. To put a crown on the head of; to make king or queen.
  2. To honour or reward.
  3. To form the top of, or to complete in a perfect way.
  4. (informal) To hit on the head.

Word family

  • crowned
  • crownless
  • crowner
  • recrown
  • uncrown

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press