"D" Word Origins

delenda

Origin

From Latin dēlenda.

delete

Latin · 1970

From Latin delere, "to destroy or wipe out." The computing sense only caught on in the late 1970s.

deleterious

Greek

From Greek dēlētērios 'noxious, destructive', from dēleisthai 'to hurt'.

Delgado

Spanish

Borrowed from Spanish Delgado, literally meaning "thin" or "slender".

Delhi

Origin

From Hindustani dihlī/dēhli, of disputed ultimate origin.

deli

Origin · 1950

A shortened form of "delicatessen," in use since the 1950s.

Delia

Ancient Greek

From the Ancient Greek epithet Dēlíā, referring to Artemis's birth on the island of Delos.

deliberate

Latin

From Latin deliberare, "to weigh carefully" — built from de- plus librare, "to balance."

deliberation

Middle English

From Middle English deliberacioun, from Old French deliberation, from Latin deliberātiō. Morphologically deliberate + -ion.

delible

Origin

From Latin dēlēbilis. See also -ible.

delicacy

Middle English

From Middle English delicacie, from Middle English delicat, from Latin delicatus. Equivalent to delic(ate) + -acy.

delicate

Middle English

From Middle English delicat, from Latin dēlicātus (“giving pleasure, delightful, soft, luxurious, delicate, (in Medieval Latin also) fine, slender”), from dēlicia + -ātus (see -ate (adjective-forming suffix)), usually in plural dēliciae (“pleasure, delight, luxury”), from dēliciō (“to allure, entice”), from dē- (“away”) + laciō (“to lure, to deceive”), from Proto-Italic *lakjō (“to draw, pull”), of unknown ultimate origin. Compare delight, delicious and Spanish delgado (“thin, skinny”). The noun is from a substantivization of the adjective (see -ate).

delicatessen

French

From German Delikatessen, "delicacies," itself borrowed from French délicatesse.

delicious

Late Latin

From Old French delicieux, from Late Latin deliciosus, "delightful" — from the same root as "delight" and "delicacy."

delict

Origin

Borrowed from Latin dēlīctum (“fault”), neuter of dēlīctus, past participle of delinquo (“to fail; to be lacking”), from dē- + linquō (“to leave, quit, forsake, depart from”).

delight

Latin

From Old French deliter, from Latin delectare, "to please." The modern spelling with "gh" came later, likely influenced by words like "light" and "might."

delightedness

Origin

From delighted + -ness.

delightful

Middle English

From Middle English deliteful, delitfull, equivalent to delight + -ful.

Delilah

Hebrew

From the Hebrew name Dəlila, thought to mean roughly "she who weakened".

delimitation

Origin

From French délimitation.

deline

Origin

From "de-" plus "line".

delineate

Origin

First attested in 1559; borrowed from Latin dēlīneātus, perfect passive participle of dēlīneo (“to sketch out, to delineate”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix) and -ate (adjective-forming suffix)), from dē- + līnea (“line”) + -ō (verb-forming suffix). Regular participial usage of the adjective up until Early Modern English.

delinquency

Late Latin

Borrowed from Late Latin dēlinquentia, derived from Latin dēlinquēns, present participle of dēlinquō (“to transgress, err”). By surface analysis, delinquent + -cy

delinquent

Middle French

Borrowed from Middle French délinquant, ultimately from Latin delinquens, present participle of delinquo.

deliquium

Origin

Borrowed from Latin deliquium, from Latin delinquere (“to lack, to fail”).

delirament

Origin

From Latin deliramentum, from delirare. See delirium.

delirate

Origin

First attested in 1623; borrowed from Latin dēlīrātus, perfect passive participle of dēlīrō, see -ate (verb-forming suffix). Cognate with French délirer.

delirating

Origin

From delirate + -ing.

deliration

Origin

Learned borrowing from Latin dēlīrātio.

deliriant

Origin

From delirium + -ant.

deliriate

Origin

From delirium + -ate. Compare delirate and delire.

delirifacient

Origin

From delirium + Latin faciens, facientis, present participle of facere (“to make”).

delirious

Latin

From "delirium" plus -ous, ultimately from Latin delirus, "crazy" or "off track."

delirium

Latin

From Latin delirium, "madness" or "derangement," related to delirare, "to go off the furrow" — literally, to stray off track while plowing.

delish

Origin

A casual clipping of "delicious."

deliver

Latin

From Old French delivrer, ultimately from Latin de- plus liberare, "to set free."

deliverance

Old French

From Old French deliverance, built from deliver plus the noun ending -ance.

deliverer

Origin

From deliver + -er.

delivery

Old French

From Middle English deliveri, via Anglo-Norman, from Old French delivrer.

dell

Old English

From Old English dell ("small dale"), from Proto-Germanic *daljō — related to the English word dale.

Della

Origin · 1800

Possibly a variant of Adela or Delia, first recorded in the 19th century.

Delle

French

From French, from Middle French Deyle, from Medieval Latin Dadila, from Late Latin Datira.

DeLorean

Origin · 1980

Named after John DeLorean, the American automotive executive whose company built the car in the early 1980s.

Delores

Spanish

A variant spelling of the Spanish name Dolores, meaning "sorrows".

Delos

Ancient Greek

From Ancient Greek Dêlos.

Delphi

Ancient Greek

From Ancient Greek Delphoi, the name of the sacred site in central Greece.

delphinal

Origin

Borrowed from Medieval Latin delphīnālis, from delphīnus + -ālis.

Delphine

Latin

The French form of the Latin name Delphina, meaning "woman from Delphi".