"D" Word Origins

detective

Latin

Shortened from "detective officer" — from Latin detegere, "to detect" or "uncover", plus -ive.

detector

Latin

From Latin detector, "one who uncovers" — from detegere plus the agent suffix -or.

detent

Origin

From French détente, from Latin tendō (“to stretch”).

detention

Latin

From Latin detentio, from detinere, "to hold back".

deter

Latin

From Latin deterrere, "to frighten away" — from de- ("away") and terrere ("to frighten").

detergent

Latin

From French détergent, from Latin dētergēns, "wiping off" — from dē- ("off") + tergēre ("to wipe").

deteriorate

Late Latin

From Late Latin deteriorare, from deterior ("worse").

deterioration

French

From French détérioration, built from deteriorate + -ion.

deteriority

Origin

From Latin deterior (“worse”). See deteriorate.

determinant

Origin

Borrowed from French déterminant, equivalent to determine + -ant.

determinate

Origin

From Middle English determinate, determynat, determinat, from Latin dēterminātus, perfect passive participle of dēterminō (“to limit, set bounds”), see -ate (adjective-forming suffix) for more.

determination

Latin

From Old French determinacion, from Latin determinatio, ultimately from determinare ("to fix, settle").

determine

Latin

From Old French determiner, from Latin determinare ("to fix bounds"), from de- + terminare ("to limit"), from terminus ("boundary, end").

determinism

Origin

Borrowed from French déterminisme, equivalent to determine + -ism.

deterrence

Origin

From the stem of deterrent + -ence.

deterrent

Latin

From Latin deterrens, the present participle of deterrere ("to frighten away, deter").

detest

Latin

From Middle French détester, from Latin dētestor, literally "to call the gods to witness against" — from dē- + testor ("to testify"), the root behind "testify" and "testimony".

detestable

Middle French

From Middle French détestable, built on detest + -able.

detestation

Origin

From Middle French détestation.

dethaw

Origin

From de- + thaw, by confusion with defrost or perhaps with words with null de- like defraud, decomplex.

detonate

Latin

From Latin detonare ("to thunder down"), from de- + tonare ("to thunder").

detonation

French

From French détonation, from detonate + -ion.

detonator

Origin

From detonate + -or.

detort

Origin

From Latin detorqueo.

detour

French

From French détour, from détourner ("to turn away").

detox

Origin

A shortened form of "detoxification".

detoxify

Origin

Attested since 1905 (twelve years earlier than toxify), from de- + tox- + -ify. (Detoxicate is attested one year earlier, since 1904.)

detract

Origin

Borrowed from Middle French détracter, from Latin detractum, past participle of detraho.

detractor

Origin

From Middle English detractor, dectractour, from Anglo-Norman detractour, from Old French detractor.

detriment

Latin

From Old French detriement, from Latin detrimentum ("loss, damage" — literally "a rubbing away"), from deterere ("to wear down").

detrimental

Medieval Latin

From Medieval Latin detrimentalis, from Latin detrimentum ("harm").

detritus

Origin

Learned borrowing from Latin dētrītus (“(that which is) rubbed away”), from dēterō (“rub away”).

Detroit

French

From French détroit ("strait"), referring to the Detroit River.

deuce

Latin

From Old French deus ("two"), from Latin duo.

deucedly

Origin

From deuced + -ly.

deuteragonist

Origin

From Ancient Greek δευτεραγωνιστής (deuteragōnistḗs, literally “second actor”), originally in Greek drama, from ἀγωνιστής (agōnistḗs, “a combatant, pleader, actor”). By surface analysis, deuter- (“second”) + agonist (“combatant, participant”).

deuterium

Greek

Coined by chemist Harold Urey from Greek deuteros ("second"), plus -ium.

deuteron

Origin

From deutero- + -on. From deuterium, from Ancient Greek δεύτερος (deúteros, “second”).

Deuteronomy

Greek

From Greek deuteronomion 'second law', from deuteros 'second' plus nomos 'law', a name that arose in the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible. The Hebrew name, Devarim, means 'words', from the book's opening phrase.

Deutsch

German

Borrowed from the German word Deutsch ("German"); related to the word "Dutch".

Deutschland

German

German for "Germany" — Deutsch ("German") + Land ("land").

dev

Origin

A clipped form of "developer".

deva

Sanskrit

From Sanskrit deva ("god, deity").

Devaki

Sanskrit

From Sanskrit Devakī.

devan

Origin

From de- + van?

devastate

Latin

From Latin devastare ("to lay waste"), from de- + vastare ("to destroy"), related to "vast".

devastation

Middle French

From Middle French dévastation.

Devdas

Origin · 1917

From the male lead of the 1917 Bengali novel Devdas, whose story has since been retold many times on screen.