Etymology — The Origins of English Words

From Middle English devoir, borrowed from Middle French devoir, from Old French deveir, from Latin dēbēre (“to owe; ought, must”).

From Latin dēflagrātiō, from dēflagrāre.

First attested in 1623; borrowed from Latin dēlīrātus, perfect passive participle of dēlīrō, see -ate (verb-forming suffix). Cognate with French délirer.

From Middle English demerit, demerite, from Old French desmerite (modern French démérite) and its etymon Latin dēmeritum. By surface analysis, de- + merit.

Inherited from Middle English courtelage, curtilage, curtylage (“vegetable garden; croft; gardening, farming”), from Anglo-Norman curtilage, from Old French cortillage, courtillage (modern French courtillage (obsolete); compare Medieval Latin cortilagium, curtilagium), from cortil, cortill (“small court, garth”) + -age (suffix denoting a relationship with a place). Cortil, cortill are derived from cort, curt (“court of a monarch”) + -il (suffix forming place names); and cort, curt from Latin cōrtem, the accusative singular form of cōrs, a variant of cohors (“court; enclosure; farmyard; etc.”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱóm (“beside, by; near; with”) + *ǵʰer- (“to enclose”).

From dag (“shred, strip of cloth”) + lock (“tuft or length of hair”).

Learned borrowing from Latin crepusculum + -ar.

From Middle French declamer, from Latin dēclāmō.

From dick + ass.

From de- + mobilization or demobilize + -ation.

From a medieval diminutive of Dick.

From daemonic + -al.

From dick + -less.

From derisive + -ly.

From Middle English daysterre, from Old English dæġsteorra, equivalent to day + star. Cognate with Scots daystern (“morningstar; daystar”).

From deca- + -hedron.

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).

From a diminutive of Dick + -son.

From French déguster. Doublet of degustate.

From cut + line.

From Middle English depnesse, from Old English dēopnes (“deepness; depth; an abyss”), from Proto-West Germanic *deupnassī, equivalent to deep + -ness. Cognate with German Low German Deepnis (“deepness, depth”).

From crap + face.

From death + -s- + -man.

From denomination + -al.