"D" Word Origins

Named after HMS Dreadnought, the first battleship of its type, whose name literally means "fears nothing."

A shortening of dreadlocks.

From Old English drēam, originally meaning "joy" or "music," which merged with a related Old Norse word draumr meaning "dream" — the exact path from "joy" to "sleeping vision" is debated by scholars.

From dream plus boat, popularised by 1930s-40s love songs about a metaphorical boat carrying a lover's dreams.

From dream plus -er.

A straightforward compound of dream and land.

From dream + world. Compare West Frisian dreamwrâld (“dreamworld”), Dutch droomwereld, dromenwereld (“dreamworld”), German Traumwelt (“dreamworld”), Danish drømmeverden (“dreamworld”), Swedish drömvärld (“dreamworld”).

From dream plus -y.

From Old English drēoriġ, "sad" or "bloody," from a root meaning "to break or crumble" — related to the idea of being worn down by grief.

From Yiddish דרעק (drek, “dirt, crap”), from Middle High German drek, from Old High German *threc (in mūsthrec), from Proto-West Germanic *þraki, from Proto-Germanic *þrakjaz, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)terǵ-, *(s)terḱ-, *(s)treḱ- (“manure, dung; to sully, soil, decay”). Compare Cimbrian drèkh (“excrement, manure”), Dutch drek (“dung; semi-liquid filth; mud”), German Dreck (“dirt; filth”), Latin stercus (“dung, manure”).

Possibly from Scots dreg-boat ("dredging boat"), or from a Middle Dutch word for a drag-net, ultimately linked to "drag."

Probably partly borrowed from Scots dree, and partly derived from its etymon Middle English dreen, dreghen, dreogen, drien, from Old English drēogan, from Proto-West Germanic *dreugan, from Proto-Germanic *dreuganą (“to act; to work, (specifically) to do military service”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰrewgʰ- (“to hold fast”). Doublet of dreich, dright, and drighten. Cognates * Gothic 𐌳𐍂𐌹𐌿𐌲𐌰𐌽 (driugan, “to do military service”) * Icelandic drýgja (“to commit, connect, perpetrate, lengthen”) * Scots dree, drie (“to bear, endure, suffer, thole”)

From an old Scandinavian-derived word meaning sediment, related to the sludge left in a barrel of drink.

The adjective is borrowed from Scots dreich (“hard to bear, dreary, tedious, wearisome; interminable, long-winded; dull, uninteresting; slow, tardy; doleful, gloomy; baffling, difficult; difficult to reach, inaccessible”), from Middle English dregh, dri, drie (“burdensome; depressing, dismal; large, tall; lasting, long; long-suffering, patient; tedious; of blows: hard, heavy; of the face: unchanging, unmoved; of a person: strong, valorous”) [and other forms], from Old English *drēog, drēoh (“earnest; fit; sober”), and then probably partly: * shortened from Old English ġedrēog (“calm, quiet; sober; fit, suitable”, adjective), from ġe- (prefix forming adjectives of association or similarity) + Proto-Germanic *dreugaz (“enduring, lasting”) (from *dreuganą (“to serve, be a retainer”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰrewgʰ- (“to serve one’s tribe; loyal”)); and * influenced by Old Norse drjúgr (“sufficient; excessive, very; great; strong”), from Proto-Germanic *dreugaz (see above). The noun is probably partly derived: * from the adjective; and * borrowed from Scots dreich (“dreariness, gloom”) (rare), probably from Middle English dri, drie (“annoyance, trouble; grief; period of time”) [and

From Yiddish dreydl, itself linked to a word meaning "to spin or turn."

From directly (“immediately”).

From Old English drenc, meaning a drink or dose of medicine — related to the word "drink."

From Middle English *drencher (found in the Surname Drencher), equivalent to drench + -er.

From Middle English drenchyng, drenchynge, drenchende, from Old English drenċende, from Proto-Germanic *drankijandz, present participle of *drankijaną (“to drench”), equivalent to drench + -ing.

From German Dresden, ultimately from a Slavic word describing a settlement in a marshy forest.

PIE word *dwís The verb is from Middle English dressen, dresse (“to arrange, put in order”), from Anglo-Norman, Old French dresser, drecier (modern French dresser), from Late Latin *dīrēctiāre (“to guide, direct”), from Classical Latin dīrēctus, whence English direct. Further akin to Latin regō. The noun is derived from the verb. Compare typologically adorn (<< Latin ōrnō < ōrdō, whence also ōrdinō, English order, ornament); Russian наряжа́ть (narjažátʹ), наря́д (narjád) (akin to ряд (rjad), поря́док (porjádok)).

From Old French dresseur, related to the verb "dress" in its original sense of "to arrange or prepare."

From Middle English dressing, dressinge, dressynge, equivalent to dress + -ing.

From dress + maker.

From Middle English dretchen, drecchen, drechen, from Old English dreċċan (“to vex, irritate, trouble, torment, torture, oppress, afflict”), from Proto-West Germanic *drakkjan, from Proto-Germanic *drakjaną (“to torment”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰrag-, *dʰragʰ- (“to bother, torment”). Cognate with Russian раздража́ть (razdražátʹ, “to irritate”), Sanskrit द्राघते (drāghate, “to exert oneself, be tired, torment”).

From Anglo-Norman Drew, Drieu, Drue, from Old French Drogon, Dreus, Drues (made popular by Charlemagne's son Drogo) from Old Dutch Drogo, of uncertain ultimate origin. Possibly from Proto-West Germanic *dragan (“to carry, pull”), or from Proto-Germanic *draugaz (“phantom, apparition”).

From the German surname, from Middle High German dræhseler ("turner, lathe worker").

From the German/Danish occupational surname Dreyer, meaning "turner" (a craftsman who works a lathe).

Variant of Dreyfus.

From Middle English driere, dreyere (“one who dries”), equivalent to dry + -er (agent noun suffix).

From Middle English drift, dryft (“act of driving, drove, shower of rain or snow, impulse”), from Old English *drift (“drift”), from Proto-Germanic *driftiz (“drift”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰreybʰ- (“to drive, push”). Equivalent to drive + -t; cognate with North Frisian drift (“drift”), Saterland Frisian Drift (“current, flow, stream, drift”), Dutch drift (“drift, passion, urge”), German Drift (“drift”) and Trift (“drove, pasture”), Danish drift (“impulse, instinct”), Swedish drift (“impulse, instinct”), Icelandic drift (“drift, snow-drift”).

From Middle Dutch drillen (“bore, move in a circle”).

From drill + -ing.

From Old English drincan, an ancient Germanic word for taking liquid into the mouth.

From Middle English drinkere, drynkere, from Old English drincere (“drinker”), from Proto-Germanic *drinkārijaz (“drinker”), equivalent to drink + -er. Cognate with Saterland Frisian Drinker (“drinker”), West Frisian drinker (“drinker”), Dutch drinker (“drinker”), German Low German Drinker (“drinker”), German Trinker (“drinker”), Danish drikker (“drinker”), Swedish drickare, drinkare (“drinker”).

From drink + -ery. ** Audio (Southern England): (file)

Inherited from Middle English [Term?]. By surface analysis, drink + -ing.

From Middle English drinklen, drinkelen, drenklen (“to plunge, drown”), from Old English *drenclian (“to drown”), frequentative form of Old English drenċan (“to give to drink, give drink to, drench, make drunk, ply with drink; soak, saturate; submerge, drown, plunge; sink”), equivalent to drink + -le and drench + -le. Compare dronkle, drunkle.

From Middle English drippen, druppen, from Old English drypan, from Proto-Germanic *drupjaną (“to fall in drops, drip”), from Proto-Germanic *drupô (“drop”). Akin to West Frisian drippe (“to drip”), Dutch druipen, druppelen (“to drip”), German Low German drüppen (“to drip”), German tropfen, tröpfeln (“to drip”), Norwegian Bokmål dryppe, Norwegian Nynorsk drypa (“to drip”).

From drip + -age.

From drippy + -ness.

From Irish Ó hEidirsceoil and Ó Drisceoil.

From Old English drifan, "to force onward or move," an ancient Germanic verb.

From Middle English dravel, dribil, a deverbal from drevelen, drivelen (Etymology 2).

A straightforward compound of drive and way — literally, the way you drive to reach your house.

From Old English drīfende, the present-participle form of "drive" — the same pattern as walking from walk.

Likely traces back to an Old English word for dew falling, related to an old sense of "drowsing" or settling gently.

Clipping of hydroponic.