Likely borrowed from Celtic *isarno-, possibly from PIE *h1esh2r (blood) — the metal named after the color of blood and rust.
A strong, hard silvery-grey metal, the chemical element of atomic number 26, widely used as a structural and manufacturing material.
From Old English 'īsern/īren' (iron), from Proto-Germanic *īsarną, likely borrowed from Proto-Celtic *īsarno- (iron), from PIE *h₁ésh₂r̥ (blood). The Celts, who were the master ironworkers of early Europe, may have named the metal after blood — either because iron ore often appears reddish, because iron rust is blood-colored, or because of the metallic taste of blood (which contains iron). The word for the metal of warfare may literally mean 'the bloody one.' Key