Etymology

emery

E1M3E1R1Y4

Today it means: An impure type of corundum, often used for sanding or polishing. Full definition →

French émeri ← Old French esmeril ← Italian smeriglio
Ask AI about its historyChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

emery · noun, verb1

  1. Italian · derived fromsmeriglio
  2. Old French · derived fromesmeril
  3. French · borrowed fromémeri
  4. English todayemery

From French émeri, from Old French esmeril, from Italian smeriglio.

Emery · proper noun2

  1. Old High German · derived fromHeimrich
  2. Old High German · derived fromrīhhi“ruler”
  3. Proto-Germanic · derived from*amal“vigor, bravery”
  4. English todayEmery

From medieval Germanic personal names, either a variant of Amory, from Amalric, Proto-Germanic *amal (“vigor, bravery”) (compare *ammōną) + Old High German rīhhi (“ruler”), or of Henry, from Old High German Heimrich, from heim (“home”) + rīhhi (“ruler”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.