Surprising etymology. This seems an obvious borrowing, French cendre, Latin cinerem, but in fact is unrelated. It's native English and was originally 'sinder' (cognate with 'sinter' of similar meaning, from German). The original meaning was "slag, scoria". The change of spelling to c- under French/Latin influence also led to a slight shift in meaning.
I did not know this. Thanks! Such things are fascinating. Like the fact that the words "island" and "isle" are completely unrelated eytmologically.
Surprising etymology. This seems an obvious borrowing, French cendre, Latin cinerem, but in fact is unrelated. It's native English and was originally 'sinder' (cognate with 'sinter' of similar meaning, from German). The original meaning was "slag, scoria". The change of spelling to c- under French/Latin influence also led to a slight shift in meaning.