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English word origin

Etymology of rowan

Originally Scots and northern English, from Middle English ron, rone, compare also Northern English raan, ran. At first referring to its fruits, of North Germanic origin, from Old Norse reynir. Also related to Norwegian

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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

Sorbus aucuparia, the European rowan. · Any of various small deciduous trees or shrubs of genus Sorbus, belonging to the rose family, with pinnate leaves, corymbs of white flowers, and usually with orange-red berries. · wych-elm, Ulmus glabra.

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

Originally Scots and northern English, from Middle English ron, rone, compare also Northern English raan, ran. At first referring to its fruits, of North Germanic origin, from Old Norse reynir. Also related to Norwegian Bokmål rogn, Danish røn. Ultimately related to the root of red.

Relationships mentioned by the source

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Inspect preserved source fields

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

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "root",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*h₁rewdʰ-"
      },
      "expansion": ""
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "sco",
        "3": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "Scots"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "ron"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English ron"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gmq",
        "3": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "North Germanic"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "non",
        "3": "reynir"
      },
      "expansion": "Old Norse reynir"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nb",
        "2": "rogn"
      },
      "expansion": "Norwegian Bokmål rogn"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "da",
        "2": "røn"
      },
      "expansion": "Danish røn"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "ron",
      "ron#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "rone",
      "rone#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "raan",
      "raan#English"
    ],
    [
      "ran",
      "ran#English"
    ],
    [
      "reynir",
      "reynir#Old_Norse"
    ],
    [
      "rogn",
      "rogn#Norwegian_Bokmål"
    ],
    [
      "røn",
      "røn#Danish"
    ],
    [
      "red",
      "red#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "Sorbus aucuparia, the European rowan.",
        "Any of various small deciduous trees or shrubs of genus Sorbus, belonging to the rose family, with pinnate leaves, corymbs of white flowers, and usually with orange-red berries.",
        "wych-elm, Ulmus glabra."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "obsolete"
      ],
      "recordId": "fb700dea824b60984a026e45088d7ed24a5f5b65a3f66b0b85b67a55bc6a32cf",
      "rawRecordSha256": "2ce3d0e016416c56f3b72789fd440c5c98be320f3c190eff9fd6fa157b5693bd",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 376765
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

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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-cm93YW4