An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/Herold

by Friedrich Kluge

Herold, masculine, ‘herald,’ late Middle High German only (14th century), hęralt, hęrolt (also ęrhalt), masculine, ‘herald’; undoubtedly an Old German military term, which, like a large number of others of the same class (compare Hader, Kampf), became obsolete at an early period. Herold itself is derived from an Old French term recorded towards the end of the 13th century, héralt, Modern French héraut (compare Italian araldo, Middle Latin heraldus), which is based, however, upon an Old German *hęriwalto, *hariwaldo, ‘an army official,’ appearing in Old Saxon as a proper name, Hariold (Old Icelandic Harald). Old High German harên, ‘to praise,’ does not occur in the compound.