trust

The story

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*deru-“be firm, hard, solid”
2. Old English · inherited from*trust
3. Middle English · inherited fromtrust, trost“trust, protection”
4. English todaytrust

From Middle English trust, trost (“trust, protection”). Long considered a borrowing from Old Norse traust (“confidence, help, protection”), from Proto-Germanic *traustą, but the root vocalism is incompatible, so trust has come to be considered a reflex of an unattested Old English *trust, from a rare zero-grade Proto-Germanic variant of the same root also attested in Middle High German getrüste (“host”). Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *deru- (“be firm, hard, solid”). Cognates Cognate with Saterland Frisian Traast (“comfort, solace”), West Frisian treast (“comfort, consolation, solace”), Dutch troost (“comfort, consolation”), German Trost (“comfort, consolation”), Low German Troost (“comfort, consolation”), Luxembourgish Trouscht (“consolation”), Danish trøst (“comfort, solace”), Icelandic traust (“faith, trust; confidence”), Norwegian Nynorsk trøst, trøyst (“consolation”), Swedish tröst (“comfort, consolation”), Gothic 𐍄𐍂𐌰𐌿𐍃𐍄𐌹 (trausti, “covenant, pact”). Doublet of tryst. More at true, tree.

Words from the same roots