earring

Earring comes from Middle English erering, from Old English ēarhring, itself from Proto-West Germanic *auʀahring — literally 'ear' plus 'ring.'

The word has stayed remarkably literal across its history: it was a ring for the ear in Old English, and it's a ring for the ear now.

It's cognate with West Frisian earring, Dutch oorring, German Ohrring, Danish ørering, and Swedish örring — a whole family of Germanic languages that independently describe the same jewelry the same plain way.