"D" Word Origins

dogi

Origin

Borrowed from Japanese 道(どう)着(ぎ) (dōgi).

dogleg

Origin

The noun is derived from dog + leg, referring to the shape of the hind leg of a dog. The verb is derived from the noun.

dogma

Greek

From Greek dogma, "opinion, tenet," from a verb meaning "to seem good, to think."

dogmatic

Origin

From Middle French dogmatique and its etymon, Late Latin dogmaticus, from Hellenistic Ancient Greek δογματικός (dogmatikós, “didactic”), from δόγμα (dógma, “dogma”).

dogmatism

Origin

From French dogmatisme, from Ecclesiastical Latin dogmatismus. Derived from Latin dogma (“philosophical tenet”), from Ancient Greek δόγμα (dógma, “opinion, tenet”), from δοκέω (dokéō, “to seem good, think”). Treated in the 17th and 18th century as Greek, with plural dogmata.

dogoodery

Origin

From do + good + -ery.

dogsit

Origin

From dog + sit.

dogsitter

Origin

From dog + sitter or dogsit + -er.

dogsled

Origin

From dog + sled.

dogtooth

Origin

From Middle English dogge tothe, calque of Latin dens caninus (“doglike tooth”). Equivalent to dog + tooth.

doh

Origin

An anglicised spelling of "do" as used in solfège.

Doherty

Irish

From Irish Ó Dochartaigh.

dohyo

Origin

Borrowed from Japanese 土(ど)俵(ひょう) (dohyō).

doily

Origin · 1600

Named after Doiley, a 17th-century London draper whose surname gave rise to the word.

doing

Origin

The "-ing" form of "do," used as a noun.

dojo

Japanese

Borrowed from Japanese dōjō, literally "place of the way."

dojocho

Origin

From Japanese 道場長 (dōjōchō, literally “dojo chief, dojo head”).

dol

Latin

A clipping of Latin dolor, "pain, sorrow" — the same root as "dolor" and "condolence."

Dolan

Irish

From Irish Ó Duibhlin; a doublet of the surname Devlin.

doland

Origin

Variant of Dowland or Dolan.

dolce

Italian

From Italian dolce, "sweet" — the same word used in music to mean "played softly and sweetly."

doldrum

Origin

The noun is possibly derived from dull or Middle English dold (past participle of dullen, dollen (“to make or become blunt or dull; to make or become dull-witted or stupid; to make or become inactive”), from dul, dol, dolle (“not sharp, blunt, dull; not quick-witted, stupid; lethargic, sluggish”); see further at dull), modelled after tantrum. The adjective is probably derived from the noun.

doldrums

Origin

From obsolete doldrum (“slothful or stupid person”) plus the plural suffix -s. Doldrum is possibly derived from dull or Middle English dold (past participle of dullen, dollen (“to make or become blunt or dull; to make or become dull-witted or stupid; to make or become inactive”), from dul, dol, dolle (“not sharp, blunt, dull; not quick-witted, stupid; lethargic, sluggish”); see further at dull), modelled after tantrum.

dole

Old English

From Old English dāl, "portion, share" — related to the word "deal."

doleful

Origin

From Middle English doleful, doolful, deolful, equivalent to dole + -ful.

dolefulness

Origin

From Middle English doolfulnes, dolfulnesse, equivalent to doleful + -ness.

dolesome

Origin

From dole (“sorrow, grief”) + -some.

doll

Origin

From "Doll," a pet form of the name Dorothy, which came to be applied to toy figures and, later, to attractive people.

dollar

German

From Dutch daalder, itself from German Taler — short for Joachimsthaler, meaning "of Joachimstal," the town where the original coins were minted.

dollop

Origin

From an old East Anglian dialect word "dallop," meaning a patch or tuft, of unclear deeper origin.

dolly

Origin

From "doll," derived from the name Dorothy, later extended to various small movable devices.

dollymop

Origin

Dolly was a slang term for the penis.

Dolores

Spanish

Borrowed from Spanish Dolores.

Dolph

Middle English

* As a Scandinavian/North Germanic, German, and Dutch surname, shortened from Adolf. * As an English surname, shortened from Delve with rounded vowel. * Also as an English surname, from Middle English delf (“quarry, pit”), related to the above.

dolphin

Latin

From Greek delphís, related to a word for "womb" — from Middle English delphyn via Latin delphinus.

dolt

Origin

From an old dialect word "dold," meaning stupid or confused, related to "dull."

dom

Latin

Shortened from "dominant" in its slang sense; the honorific sense comes from Latin dominus, "lord" or "master."

domain

Latin

From Old French demeine, "power, rule," ultimately from Latin dominium, "ownership" — related to "dominion" and "dame."

dome

Latin

From Italian duomo, ultimately from Latin domus ecclesiae, "house of the church" — the same root as "domestic."

domestic

Latin

From Latin domesticus, from domus, "house, home."

domesticate

Origin

First attested in 1620; either borrowed from Middle French domestiquer (Modern French domestiquer) or directly from Medieval Latin domesticātus, perfect passive participle of domesticō (“to domesticate”), see -ate (verb-forming suffix). By surface analysis, domestic + -ate.

domesticated

Origin

From "domesticate" plus the past-tense ending "-ed."

domesticize

Origin

From domestic + -ize.

domestique

Origin

Borrowed from French domestique (“domestic servant, maid”), from domestique (“domestic”, adjective), from Latin domesticus (“of the house, domestic; familiar; native”), from domus (“home, house; place of one's birth or residence, native country”). Doublet of domestic.

domhnall

Origin

Borrowed from Irish Domhnall. Doublet of Donald.

domicile

Latin

From Latin domicilium, related to domus, "house."

domiciliary

Origin

From French domiciliaire, from Medieval Latin domiciliārius, from Latin domicilium (“dwelling”).

domina

Origin

From Latin domina (“mistress”). Doublet of dame and donna.