Etymologically
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iron

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: UK /aɪən/, US /ˈaɪ.ɚn/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English iren,[2][3] inherited from Old English īren,[4][5] a form, with the -s- turned into -r-, of īsen, later īsern or isærn,[2][4] from Proto-Germanic *īsarną,[4] which is also the source of Old Saxon and Old High German īsarn (German Eisen), Dutch ijzer, Old Norse īsarn and Gothic eisarn.[2][3][4] The Germanic word is probably an early borrowing from Celtic *īsarno-, compare Old Irish iarn and Welsh haearn;[4][2][6] Barnhart notes the conjecture that it came instead from Venetic or Illyrian *eisarnon.[3] Watkins derives the Celtic word from Proto-Indo-European *is-(e)ro- (“powerful, holy”), perhaps as the “holy” or “strong” metal compared with softer bronze.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The metal: about 700 as isaern,[3] and in the OED from before 700.[7] An instrument or tool made of iron is also from Old English, before 700.[7]

Semantic evolution

Old English used the word both as noun and adjective, though in form it is an adjective.[2] In southern Middle English it was often ire or yre, the -n taken for an inflection, while in the north and in Scotland it was contracted to irn, still heard in dialect.[2] A branding iron is from about 1380,[7] irons as shackles from the 1650s as a verb,[2] and a device for pressing clothes from the 1610s;[2] the verb “to press clothes” followed in the 1670s.[2] The golf club with an iron head is from 1842,[2] and the iron lung from 1932.[2] Figuratively, iron stands for extreme hardness or strength, from 1382 in the adjective.[7] To have many irons in the fire is from the 1540s,[2] after the blacksmith who heats several pieces at once.[8]

Timeline

  • c. 700 – the metal, isaern.[3][7]
  • c. 825 – adjective, made of iron.[7]
  • c. 1380 – a branding iron.[7]
  • c. 1400 – verb, to make of iron.[2]
  • 1540s – many irons in the fire.[2]
  • 1610s – a device for pressing clothes.[2]
  • 1670s – verb, to press clothes.[2]
  • 1842 – a golf club.[2]
  • 1932 – iron lung.[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A hard, magnetic metallic chemical element, used to make steel.
  2. A tool or implement made of iron, such as a branding iron.
  3. A heated appliance for pressing clothes.
  4. A golf club with a metal head.
  5. irons: Shackles or fetters.
  6. Great strength or hardness.

Adjective

  1. Made of or containing iron.
  2. Very hard and strong; inflexible: an iron will.

Verb

  1. To press clothes with a heated iron.
  2. To fit or cover with iron.
  3. iron out: to settle a problem or difficulty.

Word family

  • ironness
  • ironless
  • ironlike
  • ironer
  • ironing
  • iron-on
  • unironed
  • Iron Cross
  • andiron
  • gridiron
  • ferrous

Usage notes

The chemical symbol Fe is from the Latin word for the metal, ferrum.[2]

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