*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of gar

Clipping of garfish, from Middle English gar (“spear”) + fish. Compare pike.

2 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 2 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗
noun

Any of several North American fish of the family Lepisosteidae that have long, narrow jaws. · A garfish, Belone belone.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Clipping of garfish, from Middle English gar (“spear”) + fish. Compare pike.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Inherited-form mentiongorenm
Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "clipping",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "garfish"
      },
      "expansion": "Clipping of garfish"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "gor",
        "4": "gar",
        "5": "spear"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English gar (“spear”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "garfish",
      "garfish#English"
    ],
    [
      "gar",
      "gor#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "fish",
      "fish#English"
    ],
    [
      "pike",
      "pike#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "Any of several North American fish of the family Lepisosteidae that have long, narrow jaws.",
        "A garfish, Belone belone."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Canada",
        "US",
        "especially",
        "Ireland",
        "UK"
      ],
      "recordId": "f68bd0e26cc5ba6096f3b513651b1e4fe33ffcef8e761cd1e6ae90c627e299d8",
      "rawRecordSha256": "cfa7f1602b6ef712b788206102f78428100887c9d877cec8ac7bbe4e7113f56f",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 166695
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
verb

To make, compel (someone to do something); to cause (something to be done).

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Middle English garren, gerren, from Old Norse gera, gerva (Swedish göra, Danish gøre), from Proto-Germanic *garwijaną. Compare yare; but also Old Cornish gorra (“put, place, set”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "garren"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English garren"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "non",
        "3": "gera"
      },
      "expansion": "Old Norse gera"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sv",
        "2": "göra"
      },
      "expansion": "Swedish göra"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "da",
        "2": "gøre"
      },
      "expansion": "Danish gøre"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*garwijaną"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *garwijaną"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "oco",
        "2": "",
        "3": "gorra",
        "4": "put, place, set"
      },
      "expansion": "Old Cornish gorra (“put, place, set”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "garren",
      "garren#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "gerren",
      "gerren#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "gera",
      "gera#Old_Norse"
    ],
    [
      "gerva",
      "gerva#Old_Norse"
    ],
    [
      "göra",
      "göra#Swedish"
    ],
    [
      "gøre",
      "gøre#Danish"
    ],
    [
      "*garwijaną",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/garwijaną"
    ],
    [
      "yare",
      "yare#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "To make, compel (someone to do something); to cause (something to be done)."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "UK",
        "dialectal"
      ],
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      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 166696
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
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    "lexicalSenses": 0,
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  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for gar →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-Z2Fy