Etymologically
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guarantee

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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
  • 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