The story
- Proto-Indo-European*ǵʰey-
- Proto-Indo-European*ǵʰeys-
- Proto-Indo-European*ǵʰoysós
- Proto-Germanic*gaizaz
- Proto-Indo-European*h₂welh₁-
- Proto-Indo-European*h₂wl̥h₁-t-
- Proto-Germanic*wulþǭder.?
- Proto-Indo-European*welH-
- Proto-Indo-European*wélH-dʰe-ti
- Proto-Indo-European*we-wólH-dʰe-ti?
- Proto-Germanic*waldaną
- Proto-Germanic*waldaz
- Proto-Germanic*Gaizawaldaz
- Frankish*Gaiʀawald
- Old FrenchGerald
- EnglishGerald
- Proto-Germanic*gaizaz
- Proto-West Germanic*gaiʀ
- Proto-Indo-European*kret-der.?
- Proto-Germanic*harduz
- Proto-West Germanic*hard(ī)
- Frankish*Gaiʀahard
- Old FrenchGerart
- Middle EnglishGerard
- EnglishGerard
- EnglishGerry
- Ancient Greekσαλαμάνδρα (salamándra)
- Latinsalamandra
- Anglo-Normansalamandre
- Middle Englishsalamandre
- Englishsalamander
- English todaygerrymander
Blend of Gerry + salamander, named after Elbridge Gerry, then governor of Massachusetts. Coined by the editors of the Boston Gazette in an 26 March 1812 article comparing the new electoral district boundary signed into law by Gerry to the shape of the mythological salamander. The original text was likely written by Nathan Hale and Benjamin and John Russell, accompanying a cartoon by Elkanah Tisdale. Despite Gerry's surname beginning with a hard G (/ɡ/), gerrymander is typically pronounced with a soft G (/dʒ/), as a spelling pronunciation.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.