trade

The story

1. Proto-Indo-European*dreh₂-
2. Proto-Germanic*tradō
3. Proto-West Germanic*trudo
4. Old Saxontrada
5. Middle Low Germantrade
6. Middle Englishtrade
7. English todaytrade

From Middle English trade (“path, course of conduct”), introduced into English by Hanseatic merchants, from Middle Low German trade (“track, course”), from Old Saxon trada (“spoor, track”), from Proto-West Germanic *tradu, from Proto-Germanic *tradō (“track, way”), and cognate with Old English tredan (“to tread”); ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *dreh₂- (“to tread, walk, step, run”). Displaced Middle English chaffare. Cognate with Dutch trade, tra (“path, trail, course, trade”), German Low German Traad (“track, wagon trail”), Luxembourgish Tratt (“step, pace”), Icelandic tröð (“a lane between fences, enclosure, pen”).