Etymology
1. c.1225, "protector, defender," from O.N.Fr.
warant (O.Fr.
guarant), from Frankish
*warand (cf. O.H.G.
weren "to authorize, warrant," Ger.
gewähren "to grant"), from P.Gmc.
*war- "to warn, guard, protect," perhaps from PIE base
*wer- "to cover" (cf. L.
vereri "to observe with awe, revere, respect, fear;" Gk.
ouros "watchman,"
horan "to see;" Hitt.
werite- "to see;" see weir). Sense evolved via notion of "permission from a superior which protects one from blame or responsibility" (c.1300) to "document conveying authority" (c.1513). A
warrant office in the military is one who holds office by warrant, rather than by commission.
2. The noun is derived from Middle English warant (“protector; guard, shield, protection”), from Anglo-Norman warrant, Old Northern French warant, warand, a variant of Old French guarant, garant, garand (“assurance, guarantee; authorization, permission; protector; protection, safety”) (modern French garant), from Frankish *warand, present participle of *warjan (“to fend off; to stop, thwart”). The word is cognate with Old High German werento (“guarantor”).
3. The verb is derived from Middle English warrant, waranten (“to give protection; to protect, shield; to assure, pledge, promise; to guarantee”), from Anglo-Norman warantir, warandir, warentir, and Old Northern French warandir, warantir, variant forms of Old French guarantir (“to protect”) (modern French garantir), a Romance formation from the noun guarant: see above. See: Anglo-Norman '
warantir', Old French '
guarantir', French '
garantir'.
Verbs referencing "warrant"
Scots Gaelic
barrantaich.