From Proto-Germanic*herþaz, from Proto-Indo-European*ker-(“heat; fire”). Cognate with Old Frisian herth, hirth (West Frisian hurd), Old Saxon herth, herþ, Dutch haard, Old High German herd, hert (German Herd); the Germanic root is also reflected in Old Norse hyrr ‘fire’, Gothic 𐌷𐌰𐌿𐍂𐌹(hauri) ‘coal’.