"D" Word Origins

dunderhead

Origin

From dunder + head.

dune

Dutch

From Dutch duin via Middle Dutch, itself thought to trace back to a Celtic word for a fortified mound — the same root that gave English the word "down" (as in the South Downs).

dung

Old English

From Old English dung, an ancient Germanic word for excrement or manure.

dungaree

Origin

From Hindi डूंगरी (ḍūṅgrī, “coarse calico”), from the name of a village.

dungarees

Origin

From dungaree + -s, from Hindi डूंगरी (ḍūṅgrī, “coarse calico”), from the name of a village.

dungeon

Latin

From Old French donjon, "castle keep," from Latin dominus, "lord" — originally the lord's central tower, which later became associated with the prison cells often held there.

Dunham

Old English

A habitational surname from Old English dūn ("hill") + hām ("homestead").

dunk

German

From Pennsylvania German dunke, tracing back to Old High German dunkōn, "to dip" — the same root family that gave English "tint" and "tincture."

dunker

Origin

From dunk + -er (agent noun suffix) or + -er (patient suffix).

Dunkirk

Dutch

From Dutch Duinkerke, from duin ("dune") + kerk ("church").

Dunlop

Origin

From the village of Dunlop in East Ayrshire, Scotland, which gave its name to both the cheese and, later, the tyre company founded by John Boyd Dunlop.

Dunn

Irish

Reduced Anglicized form of Irish Ó Duinn, a byname from donn ("brown, brown-haired").

Dunne

Irish

Reduced Anglicized form of Irish Ó Duinn, a byname from donn ("brown").

dunnekin

Origin

From the addition of kin or ken, a pejorative form of house, to some form of danna, an obsolete slang for shit.

dunning

Origin

From the verb "dun," meaning to persistently demand payment of a debt; origin uncertain, possibly linked to an old term for loud demanding.

dunno

Origin

A written spelling of the slurred pronunciation of "don't know."

dunnock

Origin

From Middle English donek, dunok, from Old English *dunnuc, equivalent to dun (“brownish grey”) + -ock (diminutive suffix). Compare Old High German doniklīn (“hedge-sparrow; dunnock”). Compare ruddock.

dunny

Origin

From dun (“dusky brown”) + -y (“forming adjectives of lesser degree”).

Dunston

Old English

From the Old English personal name Dunn + tūn ("farm").

duo

Latin

From Latin duo, "two," borrowed via French and Italian.

duodecimate

Origin

From Latin duodecimatus, from duodecim (“twelve”) + -ātus (“-ate”).

duomo

Origin

Learned borrowing from Italian duomo. Doublet of dome and domus.

dupe

French

From French duper, thought to come from an old term for the hoopoe bird, once considered a foolish-looking creature.

duper

Origin

Formed from "dupe" plus the agent suffix "-er."

duplet

Origin

Mid-17th century. From Latin duplus.

duplex

Latin

From Latin duplex, "twofold," from duo ("two") plus plicare ("to fold").

duplicate

Latin

From Latin duplicatus, "doubled," the past participle of duplicare.

duplication

Origin

From Middle English duplicacioun, from Middle French duplication, from Late Latin duplicātiō, duplicātiōnem, from Latin duplicō. Morphologically duplicate + -ion.

duplicitous

Origin

Formed from "duplicity" plus the adjective ending "-ous."

duplicity

Latin

From Latin duplicare, "to double," reflecting the idea of a person showing two contradictory faces.

Dupont

French

Borrowed from French Dupont, meaning "of the bridge".

duppy

Origin

Jamaica, circa 18th century. From Bube dupe (“ghost”) (compare Akan adɔpe).

Duquesne

French

Borrowed from French Duquesne.

durability

Origin

From Middle English durabilite, from Old French durabilité, from Latin dūrābilitās (“durability”). Corresponding to durable + -ity.

durable

Latin

From Latin durare, "to harden" or "to last," the same root as "endure."

Duran

Spanish

Borrowed from Spanish Durán, predominantly found in Mexico.

Durango

Origin

Named after the city of Durango in northern Spain, of uncertain but possibly Basque origin.

Durant

French

Borrowed from French durant, present participle of durer (“to last”).

Duras

Origin

Origin uncertain; not connected to the town of Duras near Bordeaux despite the shared name.

duration

Latin

From Old French duracion, ultimately from Latin durare, "to last."

durative

Origin

From duration + -ive. Alternatively, borrowed from French duratif, from Old French duratif (“lasting continuously (for a certain time)”), via Anglo-Norman French, and existing in the form duratif from about the twelfth through the fourteenth centuries, when the spelling was altered to durative under the influence of the literary Neolatin movement. Analogous to dure (“to last, to continue”) + -ive.

Durban

Latin

Named after Benjamin D'Urban, from French d'Urbain, ultimately from Latin Urbanus.

duress

Latin

From Old French duresse, "hardness," from Latin durus, "hard" — the same root that gives us "durable" and "endure."

Durga

Sanskrit

Borrowed from Sanskrit दुर्गा (durgā).

Durham

Old English

From Old English Dūnholm, "hill island," which shifted in pronunciation over centuries until it settled as Durham.

durian

Malay

From Malay durian, built from duri ("thorn") plus a suffix — a nod to the fruit's spiky shell.

during

Middle English

From Middle English during, originally the present participle of the verb duren ("to last, to continue") — the same root as "endure."

durity

Origin

From Latin duritas, from durus (“hard”).