"D" Word Origins

deciduous

Latin

From Latin deciduus 'falling off', from decidere, formed from de- 'down' and cadere 'to fall'.

decigrade

Origin

From deci- + grade.

decim

Origin

Borrowed from Latin decima (“a tenth”). Doublet of decima, decime, and dime.

decimal

Latin

From Latin decimus, "tenth," from decem, "ten."

decimate

Latin

From Latin decimare, "to take a tenth" or "to punish by killing one in ten" — from decimus, "tenth." The word originally referred to this specific Roman military punishment before broadening to mean severe destruction generally.

decimation

Origin

Borrowed from Latin decimātiō, a punishment where every 10th man in a unit would be stoned to death by the men who were spared. Used by the Romans to keep order in their military. Compare septimation and vicesimation.

decipher

French

From "de-" + "cipher," modeled on French déchiffrer — literally "to undo a cipher."

decipherer

Origin

From decipher + -er.

decision

Latin

From Latin decisio, "a cutting off, a settling," from decidere, "to decide."

decisive

Latin

From French décisif, based on Latin decidere, "to decide."

decisively

Origin

From "decisive" + "-ly."

deck

Dutch

From Middle Dutch dec, "roof, covering," related to Dutch decken, "to cover" — the same root gives us "thatch."

decker

Origin

From "deck" + the suffix "-er."

deckhand

Origin

From deck + hand.

declaim

Origin

From Middle French declamer, from Latin dēclāmō.

Declan

Old Irish

From the Old Irish name Declán, associated with Saint Declan of Ardmore.

declarant

Origin

From French déclarant.

declaration

Latin

From Latin declarationem, from declarare, "to make clear."

declare

Latin

From Latin declarare, "to make clear" — from de- (intensifier) + clarus, "clear."

declaring

Origin

From "declare" + "-ing."

declension

Origin

From late Middle English declinson, from Middle French declinaison (Modern French: déclinaison), from Latin dēclīnātiō. Doublet of declination.

decline

Latin

From Latin declinare, "to bend away, turn aside" — from de- ("down") + clinare ("to bend"), the same root found in "incline" and "recline."

declivity

Origin

1610s, from French déclivité, from Latin declivitatem, dēclīvitās, from dēclivis (“a sloping downward”), from de (“down”) + clīvus (“a slope”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱleywo-, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱley- (“to lean”) (English lean).

Deco

French · 1925

A shortening of "Art Deco," itself from the French Exposition des Arts Décoratifs held in Paris in 1925.

decoct

Origin

From Latin dēcoquō (“to boil down”), from dē- + coquō (“to cook”).

decode

Origin

From "de-" + "code," meaning "to undo a code."

decoder

Origin

From "decode" + the suffix "-er."

decollate

Origin

First attested in 1967; from de- + collate.

decomp

Origin

A casual shortening of "decomposition" or "decomposed."

decompactify

Origin

From de- + compactify.

decomplexify

Origin

From de- + complexify.

decomplicate

Origin

From de- + complicate.

decompose

Middle French

Borrowed from Middle French décomposer, built from de- plus compose.

decomposition

French

From de- + composition, mirroring French décomposition.

decompress

Latin

From de- + compress, tracing back to Latin dē- and premere ("to press").

decompression

Origin

Formed from de- + compression.

decondition

Origin

From de- + condition.

deconsolidate

Origin

From de- + consolidate.

decontamination

Origin

From de- + contamination.

decor

French

Borrowed from French décor.

decorate

Latin

From Latin decorātus, the past participle of decorāre ("to adorn, honour"), from decus ("ornament, honour").

decoration

Latin

From Latin decoratio, matching French décoration; built from decorate + -ion.

decorative

Latin

From Latin decorātus + -ive, matching French décoratif.

decorator

Origin

Formed from decorate + -or.

decore

Origin

Compare French décorer. See decorate.

decorous

Origin

From the following: * Latin decōrus (“becoming, fitting, proper, suitable”) + English -ous (suffix adjectives denoting presence of a quality in any degree, typically an abundance). Decōrus is derived from decor (“elegrance, grace; charm beauty”) + -us (suffix forming adjectives); and decor is from decēre, the present active infinitive of decet (“to adorn; to be decent; to be proper or suitable”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *deḱ- (“to perceive; to take”). * Possibly also influenced by Late Latin decorōsus (“beautiful; elegant”), from decoris + -ōsus (suffix meaning ‘full of’ forming adjectives from nouns). Decoris is the genitive singular of decus (“beauty, grace, ornament, splendour; distinction, glory, honour”), from Proto-Indo-European *déḱos (“that which is proper”), from *deḱ- (see above).

decorum

Latin

A learned borrowing from Latin decōrum, meaning "proper" or "fitting."

decoupage

Origin

Borrowed from French découpage, from découper (“to cut up”).