"D" Word Origins

Durrell

Old French

A nickname from a diminutive of Old French dur ("hard").

Durst

German

From the German surname Durst ("dryness, thirst").

dusk

Old English

From Old English dox, "dark, swarthy," going back to a root meaning "smoke" or "haze" — related to "dust" and "dun."

dusky

Origin

From "dusk" plus the adjective ending "-y," describing something with the dim, shadowy quality of evening light.

dust

Old English

From Old English dūst, "dried earth reduced to powder," tracing back to a very old root meaning "to smoke" or "raise a haze" — the same root behind "dusk."

dustbin

Origin

A straightforward compound of "dust" (originally referring to ash and household rubbish) and "bin."

dustcloth

Origin

From dust + cloth.

duster

Origin

Formed from "dust" plus the agent suffix "-er," meaning "thing (or person) that removes dust."

Dustin

Old Norse

Probably from Old Norse Þorsteinn ("Thor's stone").

dusting

Origin

The "-ing" form of "dust," used both for the chore and for describing a thin, dust-like layer of something.

dustman

Origin

From dust + -man, as household refuse previously consisted largely of ashes (dust) from domestic fires.

dustpan

Origin

A simple compound of "dust" and "pan," describing its shape and function.

dustpanful

Origin

From dustpan + -ful.

dustup

Origin

Deverbal from dust up.

dusty

Old English

From Old English dūstiġ, formed from "dust" plus "-y" — describing something covered in or resembling dust.

Dutch

German

From Middle Dutch dūtsch, originally meaning "of the (common) people" — the same root gave German "Deutsch." English narrowed the word to refer specifically to the Netherlands.

dutchie

Origin

From Dutch + -ie. It is unclear whether the sense of a cannabis joint comes from an earlier meaning of cannabis blunt rolled using a Dutch Masters cigar or whether it instead derives from the song Pass the Dutchie, which is itself based on the song Pass the Kouchie (where kouchie in the title refers to koutchie (a pipe for smoking cannabis)).

dutchland

Origin

From Middle English Duchelond (“Germany”), from Middle Dutch duutsche land or from late Middle High German diutschland, both equivalent to Dutch + -land. Cognate with West Frisian Dútslân (“Germany”), Dutch Duitsland (“Germany”), German Deutschland (“Germany”), Swedish Tyskland (“Germany”), Icelandic Þýskaland (“Germany”).

Dutchman

Middle English

From Middle English Ducheman, equivalent to Dutch + -man.

dutchy

Origin

Possibly Dutch + -y. Compare double Dutch.

duteous

Origin

Irregular combination of duty + -ous.

duties

Anglo-Norman

From Anglo-Norman 'duete', from Old French 'deu' (owed), ultimately from Latin 'debere' (to owe).

dutiful

Origin

Formed from "duty" plus "-ful," meaning "full of a sense of duty."

Dutta

Sanskrit

Borrowed from Assamese দত্ত and Bengali দত্ত (dotto), from Sanskrit दत्त (datta, "given, granted").

Dutton

Old English

From Old English dūn ("hill") + tūn ("enclosure, settlement, town"), or from the personal name Dudda + tūn.

duty

Middle English

From Middle English duete, ultimately from "due" — something owed — plus the noun-forming ending "-ty."

duvet

French

From French duvet, down or fine feathers.

Dvorak

Origin · 1930

Named after August Dvorak, the American professor who co-designed the layout in the 1930s. (Not related to composer Antonín Dvořák, whose surname comes from Czech dvůr, "courtyard" or "farm.")

dwarf

Old English

From Old English dweorg, going back to a very old Germanic word for a small, sometimes magical, being.

dweeb

Origin · 1960

US college slang from the late 1960s, likely related to "feeb" (a shortening of "feeble-minded").

dwell

Old English

From Old English dwellan, "to mislead" or "go astray," which shifted in meaning over time to "linger" and then "reside."

dweller

Origin

From "dwell" plus the agent suffix "-er," meaning "one who dwells."

dwelling

Middle English

From Middle English dwellynge, the noun form of "dwell," originally meaning "delay" or "abode."

dweomercraft

Origin

From Middle English dwemercraft, from Middle English dweomercræft (“magic; sorcery”), equivalent to dweomer + -craft.

Dwight

Middle English

Probably from a Middle English female name Diot, a pet form of Dionysia.

dwimmer

Origin

From Middle English dwimmer, from Old English ġedwimor, dwimor (“illusion, delusion, sleight, magic”).

dwimmercraft

Origin

From Middle English dwimmer-craft, dwemercraft, from Old English dweomorcræft (“magical arts, sorcery”), equivalent to dwimmer + -craft.

dwindle

Old English

From Old English dwinan, to waste away or languish.

dwindling

Old English

From "dwindle," which comes from Old English dwīnan, "to fade away" or "waste."

Dwyer

Irish

Reduced Anglicized form of Irish Ó Duibhidhir, from dubh ("black, dark") + odhar ("sallow, tawny").

dy

Origin

A clipped, colloquial form of the word "already," common in Singlish and similar English varieties.

dyad

Ancient Greek

From Ancient Greek duás, "a pair," from dúo, "two."

dye

Old English

From Old English dēah/dēag, "colour" or "hue," ultimately from a root meaning "to conceal" or "be dark" — the same root behind "dusk."

dyed

Origin

The past-tense/adjective form of "dye."

dyer

Origin

Simply "dye" plus the agent suffix "-er" — someone who dyes.

dying

Origin

From "die" plus the "-ing" ending, dropping the silent e.

dyke

Middle English

A variant spelling of "dike", tracing back through Middle English to Old Norse díki, meaning a ditch.

dykes

Origin

Likely a blend of diagonal + cut, with influence from dyke and dike.