Drag to pan · scroll to zoom
Drag to rotate
Tracing “”…
Where does the word "escort" come from? It comes from Latin corrigere, passing through Italian before entering English (1570s).
Read the full story
Where does the word "escort" come from? It comes from Latin corrigere, passing through Italian before entering English (1570s).
Escort’s story begins in Latin: corrigere meant “to correct, lead.” 'cor-', together, plus 'regere', to direct. By 1500s, the word had taken hold in Italian as scorta. An armed guard; came into English via French 'escorte'. It reached English by 1570s as escort. Later any companion. Today, escort means a person accompanying another for protection.
- Stage 1 · Latin · ancient corrigere "to correct, lead", 'cor-', together, plus 'regere', to direct.
- Stage 2 · Italian · 1500s scorta "armed guard", an armed guard; came into English via French 'escorte'.
- Stage 3 · English · 1570s escort "armed guard", later any companion.