"D" Word Origins

divine

Latin

From Old French divin, from Latin dīvīnus, "of a god", from divus, "god" — it displaced the native Old English word godcund.

diviner

Origin

From Middle English divinour, from Latin dīvīnātor (“diviner; fortune-teller; soothsayer”), from dīvīnāre (“to foresee, to foretell”). Doublet of divinator. Equivalent to divine + -er.

diving

Origin

By surface analysis, dive + -ing.

divinity

Latin

From Old French divinité, from Latin divinitas, built on divine plus -ity — it replaced the native Old English word godcundnes.

divisible

Origin

PIE word *dwóh₁ From Middle English divisible, from Old French, from Late Latin divisibilis, from the verb Latin divido.

divisio

Origin

From Latin dīvīsiō (“division”). Doublet of division.

division

Latin

From Old French division, from Latin dīvīsiō, built on dīvidō, "to divide".

divisional

Origin

Formed from division plus the adjective suffix -al.

divisive

Latin

Borrowed from Latin dīvīsīvus, itself from dīvidō, "to divide".

divorce

Latin

From Old French divorce, from Latin dīvortium, from dīvertere, "to turn aside" — related to divert and verse.

divorcee

French

Borrowed from French divorcée, from divorce plus the suffix -ee.

divulge

Latin

From Latin dīvulgō, from dī- ("widely") plus vulgō ("to make known, publish").

divvy

Origin

A clipped, informal form of dividend.

Divya

Sanskrit

Borrowed from Sanskrit दिव्या (divyā́), feminine of दिव्य (divyá, “divine, charming, heavenly”).

Diwali

Sanskrit

From Hindi दिवाली (divālī), from Sanskrit दीपावलि (dīpāvali), literally "row of lights".

Dix

Origin

From Dick + the patronymic suffix -s.

Dixie

French · 1859

First recorded in 1859; possibly linked to the Mason-Dixon Line, or to a New Orleans ten-dollar note once nicknamed a "dixie" (from French dix, "ten").

Dixieland

Origin

Formed from Dixie plus land.

Dixit

Sanskrit

From Sanskrit दीक्षित (dīkṣita).

DIY

Origin

An initialism of "do it yourself".

diya

Hindi

Borrowed from Hindi दिया (diyā).

dizz

Origin

See dizzy.

dizziness

Old English

From Old English dysiġnes, related to dizzy plus the suffix -ness.

dizzy

Old English

From Old English dysiġ, "foolish, stupid", from Proto-West Germanic *dusīg, "stunned, dazed".

DJ

Origin

An abbreviation of "disc jockey".

Django

French

Said to derive from a Romani word meaning "to awake"; also possibly a Walloon form of the French name Jean.

DLC

English

An initialism of downloadable content.

DM

Origin

Short for "direct message" in the messaging sense, and for "dungeon master" in the gaming sense.

DMG

English

A shortening of disk image.

Dmitry

Russian

From Russian Дми́трий (Dmítrij), from Byzantine Greek Δημήτριος (Dēmḗtrios), from Δημήτηρ (Dēmḗtēr, “Demeter”) + -ιος (-ios, “pertaining to”). Doublet of Demetrius, Dimitri, and Dimitris.

DNA

Origin

Short for deoxyribonucleic acid, the chemical name of the molecule.

DNS

English

An initialism of domain name system.

do

Old English

From Old English dōn, a very old Germanic verb going back to a root meaning "to put" or "to place."

doable

Origin

From do + the suffix -able ("capable of being").

dob

Old English

Origin uncertain; possibly from an old English dialect verb dobben.

dobb

Origin

From a medieval diminutive form of the given name Robert.

dobbie

Origin

From Dobb (“a medieval diminutive form of the given name Robert”) + -ie; thus archaically equivalent to Bobby. Cognate with English Dobbin.

dobbin

Origin

From Dobbin, a traditional common name given to workhorses in English-speaking farming communities.

dobbing

Origin

Variant of Dobbin.

dobbins

Origin

Dobbin + -s (“patronymic suffix”)

dobbinson

Origin

From Dobbin + -son.

dobby

Origin

From the name Dobby, itself a variant of Rob, associated with household spirits in British folklore.

Dobie

Origin

A shortened, affectionate form of Dobermann with the diminutive suffix -ie.

Dobson

Origin

From a medieval diminutive form of the given name Robert + -son.

dobsonfly

Origin

Unknown; possibly Dobson + fly

doc

Origin

A clipped form of "doctor."

docent

Origin

From Latin docēns, present participle of doceō (“to teach”). In the meaning of a university grade, as used in some Central European countries, it is clipped version of private docent, privat-docent, from German Privatdozent, from German Dozent.

docile

Latin

From Latin docilis, "easily taught," from docere, "to teach" — the same root as "doctor" and "doctrine."