crate

The story

1. Latin · derived fromcrātis“wickerwork”
2. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*ger-“to bind, twist, wind”
3. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*gretH-“plaiting, wicker, basket, cradle”
4. Proto-Germanic · derived from*kratjô
5. Old Dutch · derived from*kratta
6. Middle Dutch · derived fromcratte“basketware, mold”
7. Dutch · derived fromkrat“crate, large box, basket”
8. English todaycrate

From Dutch krat (“crate, large box, basket”), from Middle Dutch cratte (“basketware, mold”), from Old Dutch *kratta, *kratto (“basket”), from Proto-Germanic *kratjô, *krattijô (“basket”), from Proto-Indo-European *gretH- (“plaiting, wicker, basket, cradle”), from Proto-Indo-European *ger- (“to bind, twist, wind”). Cognate with West Frisian kret (“wheelbarrow”), German Krätze (“basket”), Old English cræt, ceart (“cart, wagon, chariot”), Old Norse kartr (“wagon”), modern English cart. Wider cognates include Sanskrit ग्रन्थ (grantha, “a binding”). Alternatively from Latin crātis (“wickerwork”), perhaps from the same PIE root.

Words from the same roots

First known use, by meaning

• from 1680s A large open box or basket, used especially to transport fragile goods.
• from 1871 To put into a crate.