garret

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈɡæɹɪt/ (UK); /ˈɡæɹɪt/, /ˈɡɛɹɪt/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English garite (“watchtower, turret”),^{[2][3][4][5][6]} from Old French garite (“watchtower, refuge”),^{[2][3][4][5][6]} from garir “to defend, protect”,^[2][3][4][6] which is of Germanic origin.^[2][3][4] It is related to Old English werian “to defend”^[3][4] and to garrison.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

A watchtower or a turret on the top of a tower or wall (about 1300).^[3][4][7]

Semantic evolution

The sense of a room under the roof appeared early (1310 in Barnhart;^[3] 1483 in the OED).^[7] By the mid-18th century the garret was the typical wretched lodging of a poor poet.^[4] The original military sense is obsolete.^[7]

Timeline

• about 1300 – a watchtower or turret.^[3][4][7]
• 1310 – an attic or loft, per Barnhart.^[3]
• 1483 – a room on the top floor.^[7]
• mid-18th century – a poor poet's lodging.^[4]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A room on the top floor of a house, under a sloping roof; an attic, often a small and wretched one.

Word family

• garreted

Related words

• garrison
• attic

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b c d Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
7. ^ a b c d e Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press