guarantee

Pronunciation

• IPA: UK /ˌɡær.ənˈtiː/, US /ˌɡer.ənˈtiː/, /ˌɡær.ənˈtiː/^[1]

Etymology

It is an alteration of earlier garrant “a warranty that a title to property is true” (about 1436),^[2][3] perhaps through Spanish garante,^[4][5][6] later influenced by French garantie and by legal words in -ee such as assignee.^[5][7][3] Old French garant “defender, protector, warranty” is from Frankish,^[3][2] from Proto-Germanic *war- “to warn, guard”, from Proto-Indo-European *wer- (“to cover”).^[3] It is a doublet of warrant and guaranty.^[6][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

A person who gives a security: 1679 in the OED and Barnhart, the 1670s in Etymonline, 1680 in MWU.^[8][2][3][7]

Semantic evolution

The act of guaranteeing is from 1786,^[8] and the pledge itself, properly a guaranty, from the 18th century,^[3][2] with something given as a security from 1832.^[8] The two forms are still confused.^[2] The person to whom a guaranty is given is from 1853.^[8] The verb, to be a surety for, is from 1791,^[8][3] and to promise that something will happen from 1820.^[8] Middle English already had garanten “to give a warranty” from about 1410.^[2][3]

Timeline

• 1679 – a guarantor.^[8][2]
• 1786 – the act of guaranteeing.^[8]
• 1791 – verb.^[8][3]
• 1820 – to promise.^[8]
• 1832 – a security given.^[8]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A formal promise that something will be done or will happen.
2. A written promise from a maker to repair or replace a faulty product; a warranty.
3. Something that makes an outcome certain.
4. A promise to pay someone's debt if they do not.

Verb

1. To promise that something will happen or be done.
2. To promise that a product will be repaired or replaced if faulty.
3. To accept responsibility for someone else's debt.

Word family

• nonguarantee
• reguarantee

Related words

• guaranty
• guarantor
• warrant
• warranty

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 Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press