"D" Word Origins

delta

Greek

From the Greek letter delta (Δ), whose triangular shape resembles a river delta — itself borrowed from an earlier Phoenician word for "door".

Deluca

Italian

Anglicization of the Italian surname De Luca.

delude

Latin

From Latin deludere ("to mock, deceive"), from de- plus ludere ("to play or mock") — the same root behind "ludicrous".

deluge

Latin

From Old French deluge, from Latin diluvium ("a washing away"), related to the verb diluere ("to wash away, dilute").

delusion

Latin

From Latin delusio, from deludere ("to deceive").

delusional

Origin

From delusion + -al.

deluxe

Latin

Borrowed from French de luxe ("of luxury"), from Latin luxus ("excess, extravagance").

delve

Old English

From Old English delfan ("to dig"), from Proto-Germanic *delbaną — the same root gave Dutch delven and Low German dölven.

demagogic

Origin

Borrowed from French démagogique, equivalent to demagogue + -ic.

demagogue

Greek

From Greek dēmagōgos 'leader of the people', from dēmos 'people' and agōgos 'leading'.

demand

Latin

From Old French demander, from Latin demandare ("to entrust, hand over"), from de- plus mandare ("to order, commission").

demarcate

Origin

Back-formation from demarcation.

demarcation

Origin

First recorded c.1752, from Spanish línea de demarcación and/or Portuguese linha de demarcação, the demarcation line laid down by the Pope on May 4, 1493, dividing the New World between Spain and Portugal on a line 100 leagues west of the Cape Verde Islands. Both derive from demarcar, from de- + marcar (“to mark”), from Italian marcare, from the same Germanic root as march.

Demarco

Italian

A less common spelling of the Italian surname De Marco.

demean

Old English

From de- plus an old sense of mean meaning "lowly, common", from Old English gemæne.

demeanor

Latin

From Old French demener ("to guide, conduct"), from de- plus mener ("to lead"), ultimately from Latin minare ("to drive").

Demelza

Origin

From the Cornish place name Dinmelsa, meaning "fort of Melsa".

dementia

Latin

From Latin dementia, from de- ("away from") plus mens ("mind") — literally "being out of one's mind".

demerit

Origin

From Middle English demerit, demerite, from Old French desmerite (modern French démérite) and its etymon Latin dēmeritum. By surface analysis, de- + merit.

demesne

Origin

From Middle English demayne, from Anglo-Norman demeyne, demene et al., Old French demeine, demaine, demeigne, domaine (“power”) (whence French domaine (“domain”)), a noun use of an adjective, from Latin dominicus (“belonging to a lord or master”), from dominus (“master, proprietor, owner”). See dame. Doublet of domain. The spelling with non-etymological s is partly due to influence from mesne and partly for the purpose of indicating a long vowel, as the s quiesced before a consonant; compare aisle, isle, Carlisle.

Demetrius

Ancient Greek

From Ancient Greek Demetrios, from Demeter, the earth goddess, plus a possessive suffix. A doublet of the names Dimitris and Dmitry.

demi

Latin

From French demi ("half"), from Latin dimidius.

demiboy

Origin

From demi- + boy.

demigirl

English

From the prefix demi- 'half, partly', ultimately from Latin dimidius via French, plus girl.

demigod

Origin

From demi- + god. Calque of the Latin semideus (“half-god”), which is probably a coining by the Roman poet Ovid for less important gods such as dryads.

DeMille

French

An anglicized borrowing of the Belgian French surname De Mille.

demineralize

Origin

From de- + mineralize.

demise

Latin

From Old French démise, feminine past participle of démettre ("to relinquish"), from Latin demittere. The "death" sense developed as a euphemism, since a person's death was often the legal event that triggered the transfer of an estate.

demit

Origin

From Latin dēmittō (“send or bring down, let fall”).

demiwoman

Origin

demi- + woman

demo

Origin

A shortened form of "demonstration".

demobilization

Origin

From de- + mobilization or demobilize + -ation.

democracy

Ancient Greek

From Ancient Greek demokratia, from demos ("the people") plus -kratia ("rule, power") — literally "rule by the people".

democrat

French

From French democrate, from democratie, modelled on aristocrate.

democratic

Ancient Greek

From Ancient Greek demokratikos, from demokratia ("democracy") plus the adjective suffix -ikos.

democratically

French

Built from democratic plus the adverb-forming suffix -ally, following the pattern of French démocratiquement.

democratisation

Origin

From democratise + -ation or democrat + -isation.

democratise

Origin

From French démocratiser, equivalent to democrat + -ise.

democratism

Origin

From democrat + -ism.

democratization

Origin

From democratiz(e) + -ation or democrat(ic) + -ization.

democratize

Origin

From French démocratiser. By surface analysis, democrat(ic) + -ize.

demographic

Origin

From demography plus the adjective suffix -ic.

demoiselle

Origin

Borrowed from French demoiselle. The bird is so called on account of the grace and symmetry of its form and movements. Doublet of damsel, doncella, and donzella.

demolish

Latin

From Middle French demoliss-, a form of demolir ("to tear down"), from Latin dēmōlior, "to pull down."

demolition

Latin

From Old French demolition, from Latin dēmōlītiō, "a tearing down" — the noun form of demolish.

demon

Ancient Greek

From Medieval Latin dēmōn, borrowed from Ancient Greek daímōn, originally meaning a protective or guiding spirit rather than something evil.

demoncrat

Origin

Blend of demon + Democrat.

demoniac

Origin

From Middle English demoniak et al., from Old French demoniaque, from Late Latin daemoniacus.