Etymologically
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warrant

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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or ground, as in no warrant for such a claim, is from the 1590s.[3] The verb, to protect or keep safe, is from 1275 and is obsolete;[2][3] to guarantee as true is from about 1300, and to guarantee goods from the late 14th century.[3] The warrant officer holds office by warrant rather than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
  • 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)