"D" Word Origins

dryness

Origin

Inherited from Middle English dryenesse, drynesse; equivalent to dry + -ness.

drywall

Origin

From dry + wall — so named because, unlike wet plaster, it goes up without needing to dry on-site.

DTB

English

An initialism; the expansion depends on context.

DTF

English

An initialism of down to fuck.

duad

Origin

From duo- + -ad.

dual

Latin

From Latin dualis, from duo ("two").

duality

Latin

From Latin dualitas, built on dual + the suffix -ity.

duan

Scottish Gaelic

From Irish and Scottish Gaelic duan, a very old Celtic word for a poem or song.

Duane

Irish

An anglicized form of the Irish name Dubhán, from dubh ("black, dark").

Duarte

Spanish

From Portuguese and Spanish Duarte, a doublet of the name Edward.

dub

Old English

From Old English dubbian, "to knight someone by striking with a sword" — from a Germanic root meaning "to hit or strike".

Dubai

Arabic

Borrowed into English from the Arabic name Dubayy.

dubash

Origin

From Hindi दो (do, “two”) + भाषा (bhāṣā, “languages”).

dubiety

Origin

Borrowed from Late Latin dubietās.

dubious

Latin

From Latin dubius, related to duo ("two") — the idea of being torn between two possibilities.

Dublin

Irish

From Middle Irish Dublind, from dub ("black") + lind ("pool") — "black pool".

Dubois

French

Borrowed from French Dubois, literally "of the woods".

Dubrovnik

Origin

From Serbo-Croatian Dubrovnik; the city was formerly known in English as Ragusa.

dubya

Origin

Representing a southern United States pronunciation of W, the middle initial of George W. Bush.

duc

Latin

From French duc, from Latin dux ("leader") — the same root as English "duke".

ducal

Origin

From Middle French ducal, from Latin ducālis. Doublet of dogal.

duce

Latin

Borrowed from Italian duce ("leader"), from Latin dux — related to English "duke".

duchess

Old French

From Old French duchesse, the feminine form of duc ("duke").

duchesse

Origin

From French duchesse. Doublet of duchess.

duchy

Latin

From Old French duché, ultimately from Latin dux ("leader") — the land governed by a duke.

duck

Old English

From Old English dūcan ("to dip, dive, duck"), related to German and Dutch words meaning "to dive" or "to bend down".

Duckburg

Origin · 1944

Coined by cartoonist Carl Barks in 1944 for a Donald Duck comic, blending "duck" with the common town-name ending "-burg."

ducking

Origin

From duck + the suffix -ing.

duckish

Origin

From duck + -ish.

duckling

Middle English

From Middle English dukeling, built from duck + the diminutive suffix -ling.

Duckman

Origin

A compound of duck + man, describing someone whose trade was raising ducks.

ducks

Origin

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Duckworth

Old English

A habitational surname from a place in Lancashire, from Old English duce ("duck") + worth ("enclosure").

ducky

Origin

From duck + the affectionate suffix -y.

duct

Latin

From Latin ductus ("a leading, a conducting"), from ducere ("to lead").

ductile

Origin

From Old French, from Latin ductilis (“easily led”).

ductus

Origin

Borrowed from Latin ductus (“leading, conducting”, noun). Doublet of duct and douit.

dud

Middle English

From Middle English dudde, an old word for ragged clothing, later applied to anything useless.

dude

Origin · 1883

Of uncertain origin, likely a clipping of "doodle" as in "Yankee Doodle Dandy"; first recorded in 1883 New York slang for a fussy, overdressed man.

dudelet

Origin

From dude + -let.

dudgeon

Origin

Uncertain: * Perhaps the same as Etymology 2, below * Perhaps from Welsh dygen (“anger, grudge”) (from dy- + cwyn (“complaint”)), though the OED rejects this. * Possibly from dudgen (“trash, something worthless”). * Possibly borrowed from Italian aduggiare (“to overshadow”), similar to the semantic development of umbrage.

Dudley

Old English

From Old English, roughly meaning "the woodland clearing belonging to Dudda," a personal name.

due

Latin

From Old French deü, "owed," the past participle of devoir ("to owe") — ultimately from Latin debere, also the root of "debt" and "duty."

due process

Middle English

From 'due', from Old French 'deu', past participle of 'devoir' (to owe, from Latin 'debere'), plus 'process', from Latin 'processus' (a going forward). The phrase 'due process of law' appears in English statute language from the fourteenth century.

duel

Medieval Latin

From Medieval Latin duellum, "a fight between two men" — later linked (probably wrongly, by folk association) to duo, "two," which is why it now means a two-person contest.

duet

Italian

From Italian duetto, a diminutive of due, "two."

duff

Origin

Representing a northern England and Scots pronunciation of dough.

duffel

Origin

Named after Duffel, a town in Belgium once known for producing this heavy woolen cloth.