"D" Word Origins

dragnet

Old English

From drag + net, echoing the Old English draegnet.

Drago

Italian

Borrowed from Italian Drago.

dragon

Ancient Greek

From Old French dragon, from Latin draco, from Ancient Greek drakon, "a huge serpent."

dragonback

Origin

From dragon + back, after horseback.

dragonet

Origin

From Middle English dragonet, from Middle French dragonet. By surface analysis, dragon + -et.

dragonette

Origin

Originally a variant of dragonet. By surface analysis, dragon + -ette.

dragonfly

Origin

From dragon + fly, likely referencing its fierce hunting style compared to the mythical creature.

dragoon

Latin

From French dragon, originally the name of the short musket these soldiers carried, itself from Latin draco, "dragon."

drain

Old English

From Old English dreahnian, related to Old English drygan, "to dry."

drainage

Origin

From drain + -age.

drained

Origin

From drain + -ed.

drainer

Origin

From drain (verb) + -er.

drainout

Origin

Deverbal from drain out.

drainpipe

Origin

From drain + pipe.

drainplug

Origin

From drain + plug.

drake

Old English

From Old English draca, a shortened form of andraca ("duck-king"), going back to a Proto-Germanic word meaning "duck leader." The dragon sense is a separate, later borrowing from the same root that gave English "dragon."

dram

Ancient Greek

From Old French drame, going back through Late Latin to Ancient Greek drakhmē, "a handful" or unit of weight — the same root that gives us "drachma."

drama

Ancient Greek

From Ancient Greek drama, "an act" or "a play," from the verb draō, "to do" or "to act" — it reached English via Late Latin.

dramamine

Origin

A trademarked brand name.

dramatic

Ancient Greek

Borrowed from Ancient Greek drāmatikós, built from drāma ("a play") plus a suffix meaning "relating to."

dramatically

Origin

From dramatic plus the adverb-forming suffix -ally.

dramatics

Origin

From dramatic + -s; see -ics.

drank

Origin

An eye-dialect spelling that mimics a Southern US pronunciation of "drink."

drape

Old French

From Old French draper, "to full cloth," from drap ("cloth"), ultimately from a Germanic root meaning "to beat or strike" — the same root behind English "drub."

draper

Old French

From Old French drapier, "cloth seller," from drap, "cloth" — also the origin of the common English surname Draper.

drapery

Origin

From Middle English draperie, from Old French draperie, from drap (“drape, sheet, large cloth”), ultimately of Germanic origin.

drastic

Ancient Greek

From Ancient Greek drastikós, "active, effective," from drân, "to do."

drastically

Origin

From drastic plus -ally.

drat

Origin

A shortened, softened form of the old oath "od rat" — itself a disguised way of saying "God rot."

draught

Old English

From Old English dragan, to draw or pull, so literally a drawing or pulling; the same word as American draft.

draughtboard

Origin

From draught + board.

Draupadi

Sanskrit

Borrowed from Sanskrit Draupadī.

draw

Latin

From Old English dragan, "to drag or pull," from a Proto-Germanic root related to Latin trahere ("to pull, drag") — the same root behind "drag" and "draught."

drawback

Origin

Formed from draw plus back, originally referring to a refund of import duty when goods were re-exported.

drawbridge

Middle English

From Middle English drawebrigge, literally "bridge that is drawn" (pulled up).

drawdown

English

From the phrasal verb draw down, in the sense of drawing off or reducing a supply.

drawers

Origin · 1500

From draw ("to pull"), describing a garment pulled on over the legs; in use since the late 1500s.

drawing

Origin

From draw plus -ing.

drawl

Origin

From a modern frequentative form of draw, equivalent to draw + -le. Compare draggle. Compare also Dutch dralen (“to drag out, delay, linger, tarry, dawdle”), Old Danish dravle (“to linger, loiter”), Icelandic dralla (“to loiter, linger”).

drawn

Origin

The past participle of draw.

drawstring

Origin

From draw + string.

dray

Origin

From Middle English draye, dreye, from Old English dræġe (“dragnet”), from Proto-Germanic *dragǭ. Cognate with Middle Low German drāge (“stretcher; dray”), Middle High German trage (“a litter”). Related to Old English dragan (“to pull; draw”). More at draw.

Drayton

Old English

From Middle English Drayton, from Old English Drægtūn ("town where logs are dragged"), from draġan ("to drag") + tūn ("town").

dread

Old English

From Old English ondrǣdan, "to fear," formed from and- (a prefix like "against") plus rǣdan, an early relative of "read" in the sense of "advise" or "counsel."

dreadful

Middle English

From Middle English dredful, formed from dread plus -ful.

dreadfully

Middle English

Inherited from Middle English dredfully, dradefullich, dredefullich; equivalent to dreadful + -ly.

dreadlock

Origin

From dreadlocks.

dreadlocks

Origin

From Jamaican Creole, combining dread (linked to Rastafarian religious awe) and locks (tufts of hair).