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throne

Etymology and origin of the English word throne

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
before 1200
Borrowed from
Old French trone
Ultimate origin
Ancient Greek (θρόνος)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /θɹəʊ̯n/ (UK); /θɹoʊ̯n/ (US)[1]

Etymology

It is Middle English trone, later throne after the Latin form,[2][3][4] borrowed from Old French trone,[2][3] from Latin thronus, from Greek θρόνος (thrónos, “elevated seat, chair”),[3][2][5] which Watkins derives from PIE Proto-Indo-European *dher- (“to hold firmly, support”), the source also of Latin firmus and Sanskrit dharma.[3][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The seat of God or a saint in heaven: probably before 1200, in the Ancrene Riwle;[2][3] before 1240 in the OED.[6]

Semantic evolution

The seat of a sovereign on earth is from about 1300, when the spelling throne also appears.[3][2] The seat of a pope or bishop on ceremonial occasions is from about 1380,[6] and the throne as a symbol of royal power from the late 14th century.[3] Thrones, the third order of angels, after Colossians 1:16, are 14th-century.[5][7] A sitter's seat in a portrait-painter's studio is from 1838.[6] Colloquially a lavatory, it is from 1922 in the OED, the comparison by 1922 and the sense by 1960 in Etymonline.[6][3] The verb, to put on a throne, is from about 1378, in Piers Plowman.[2]

Timeline

  • before 1200 – trone, God's seat.[2]
  • c. 1300 – a sovereign's seat.[3]
  • c. 1378 – the verb.[2]
  • 14th century – an order of angels.[5]
  • 1922 – a lavatory (colloquial).[6]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. The ceremonial chair of a sovereign or bishop.
  2. The power or rank of a sovereign: came to the throne.
  3. (Thrones) The third of the nine orders of angels.

Verb

  1. To place or sit on a throne; to enthrone.

Word family

  • throneless
  • dethrone
  • enthrone
  • inthrone
  • unthrone
  • throne room

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b c d e Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Throne.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/throne. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·