Farrier

The word farrier is related to ancient words meaning strong, powerful, vigorous, and holy.
 
The word farrier comes to English from Latin ferrum (iron), a word of unknown origin, possibly from an ancient Semitic or Etruscan language. Related terms include Latin ferro (e.g., ferro-cement) and ferric (something pertaining to or extracted from iron) from 1799. Ferrous (something pertaining to or containing iron), from 1865, comes from Latin ferreus (made of iron) and Latin ferrum.
 
The Ferris Wheel is from American English, 1893. Could it be said that a farrier is someone who makes and repairs ferris wheels? Probably not.
 
In 12th century English, a ferrer or ferrour was an ironsmith. The surnames Farrar and Farrer are two forms, among others, of a surname from that time meaning ironsmith or ironworker or blacksmith. Ferrier, meaning one who shoes horses, comes to English in the 1560s from French ferrier (blacksmith) and Latin ferrarius (blacksmith), from Latin ferrum.
 
Today, words for iron which are related to science and technology come from Latin ferrum. The chemical symbol for iron on the Periodic Table of the Elements is Fe (from ferrum).
 
So, farrier, ferro, farric, and farrous all come from ferrum, the Latin word for iron. But, where does the English word iron come from?
 
The English word iron has its origins in the Proto-Indo-European (PIE) root eis (strong) and PIE is-(e)ro- (powerful, holy). PIE is-(e)ro- is the source of Greek ieros (strong), Sanskrit isirah (vigorous, strong), Proto-Germanic isarn, and Celtic isarnon.
 
Proto-Germanic isarn is the source of Old Saxon isarn, Old Norse isarn, Middle Dutch iser, Old High German isarn, and German Eisen. In addition, Celtic isarnon is the source of Old Irish iarn and Welsh haiarn. From these Germanic and Celtic words come Old English iren, Middle English iren, yron, and English iron.
 
In brief, paradoxically, even though ferrum originally meant iron, today ferrum and related words are used primarily in a scientific rather than an everyday sense. In contrast, PIE eis, which originally meant strong, powerful, holy is now the source of the now everyday word iron.
 
Reference: Online Etymological Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com/
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