warrant

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈwɒɹənt/ (UK); /ˈwɔɹənt/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is Middle English warant, borrowed from Old French warant (“defender; surety; justifying evidence”), the Old North French form of Old French guarant, garant,^[2][3][4] from Frankish *warand,^[2][3] related to Old High German werēnt (“guarantor”) and German gewähren (“to grant”).^[4][3] It is a doublet of guarantee.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

A protector or defender: about 1200, before 1225 in the OED, a sense now obsolete.^[2][6][3]

Semantic evolution

Security or assurance given by a protector, and permission from a superior that frees one from blame, are from about 1300,^[3] as are letters validating authority.^[3] In law, a guarantee of title to property is from the early 14th century,^[3] and a written document authorizing an action, a writ, from the early 15th century.^[3][4] A justifying reason or ground, as in no warrant for such a claim, is from the 1590s.^[3] The verb, to protect or keep safe, is from 1275 and is obsolete;^[2][3] to guarantee as true is from about 1300, and to guarantee goods from the late 14th century.^[3] The warrant officer holds office by warrant rather than by commission.^[3] In Yorkshire and Lancashire mining, warrant was the clay beneath a coal seam.^[7]

Timeline

• before 1225 – a protector.^[6]
• 1275 – the verb, to protect.^[2]
• c. 1300 – an assurance; to guarantee as true.^[3]
• early 15th century – a writ.^[3]
• 1590s – a justifying reason.^[3]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A document issued by a court or official authorizing an action, such as an arrest or search.
2. Justification or good reason: no warrant for this view.
3. A document giving the holder a right, such as to buy shares at a set price.

Verb

1. To justify or call for: the case warrants investigation.
2. To guarantee, or to state with confidence: I'll warrant he's lying.

Word family

• warrantability
• warrantable
• warrantably
• warrantless
• prewarrant
• warrantee
• warranter
• warrantor

Related words

• unwarrantable
• unwarranted
• warranty
• guarantee
• garrison
• ward
• warrant officer

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)