Etymology dictionary
droll (adj.) — dudette (n.)
droll (adj.)
"waggish, deliberately facetious, comical," 1620s, from French drôle "odd, comical, funny" (1580s), in French a noun, drolle, draule, meaning "a merry fellow, buffoon," possibly from Middle Dutch drol "fat little fellow, goblin," or Middle High German trolle "clown," ultimately from Old Norse troll "giant, troll" (see troll (n.)). Related: Drolly; drollish.
drollery (n.)
"sportive tricks, something made or done to raise mirth," 1590s, from French drôlerie (16c.), from drôle (see droll + -ery).
dromedary (n.)
"thoroughbred Arabian camel," late 13c., from Old French dromedaire and directly from Late Latin dromedarius "kind of camel," from Latin dromas (genitive dromados), from Greek dromas kamelos "running camel," from dromos "a race course," from dramein "to run," from PIE *drem- "to run" (source also of Sanskrit dramati "runs, goes," perhaps also Old English trem "footstep").
A variety of the one-humped Arabian camel bred and trained for use as a saddle-animal, "and comparing with the heavier and slower varieties as a race-horse does with a cart-horse; it is not a different animal zoologically speaking" [Century Dictionary]. An early variant in English was drumbledairy (1560s).
drone (n.)
Middle English drane, drone, "male honeybee," from Old English dran, dræn, from Proto-Germanic *dran- (source also of Middle Dutch drane; Old High German treno; German Drohne, which is from Middle Low German drone), probably imitative (compare Lithuanian tranni, Greek thronax "a drone"). Given a figurative sense of "idler, lazy worker" (male bees make no honey) 1520s. Meaning "pilotless aircraft directed by remote control" is from 1946.
Meaning "a deep, continuous humming sound" is from c. 1500, apparently an independent imitative formation (compare threnody). Meaning "bass pipe of a bagpipe" is from 1590s.
drone (v.)
mid-14c., drounen, "to roar, bellow;" c. 1500, "to give forth a monotonous and unvaried tone, hum, or buzz," imitative (see drone (n.)). In modern times it often is the characteristic sound of airplane engines. Meaning "speak in a dull, monotonous tone" is from 1610s. Related: Droned; droning.
droog (n.)
"gang member, young ruffian," a transliteration of the Russian word for "friend," introduced by English novelist Anthony Burgess in "A Clockwork Orange" (1962). The Russian word comes from Old Church Slavonic drugu "companion, friend, other" (source of Bohemian drug "companion," Serbo-Croatian drugi "other"), which belongs to a group of related Indo-European words (such as Lithuanian draugas "friend, traveling companion;" Gothic driugan "do military service," ga-drauhts "soldier;" Old Norse drott, Old English dryht, Old High German truht "multitude, people, army") apparently with an original sense of "companion."
drool (v.)
"drivel, slobber, drip saliva, as an infant does," 1802, drule, apparently a dialectal variant or contraction of drivel. Related: Drooled; drooling. The noun is from 1869.
droop (v.)
c. 1300, droupen, "to sink or hang down; be downcast or sad," from Old Norse drupa "to drop, sink, hang (the head)," related to Old English dropian "to drop" (see drop (v.)). Related: Drooped; drooping. As a noun, "act of drooping," from 1640s.
droopy (adj.)
"dejected, sad, gloomy," c.1200, drupie, perhaps from droop, perhaps from Old Norse drupr "drooping spirits, faintness."
dropping (n.)
late 14c., "that which is dropped," verbal noun from drop (v.). Specifically "dung" (especially of fowls) from 1590s. Related: Droppings.
drop (v.)
Middle English droppen, from Old English dropian "to fall in drops, fall in small portions or globules, as a liquid." The word is part of a related series of verbs in Proto-Germanic that also yielded Old Saxon driopan, Old Frisian driapa, Dutch druipen, Old High German triufan, German triefen, and in English drip, droop, and obsolete dreep and dripe. Related: Dropped; dropping.
In reference to a solid object, "to fall vertically" from late 14c. The transitive sense "allow to fall" is from mid-14c. To drop in "visit casually" is from c. 1600; drop-in (n.) "a casual visit" is attested by 1819. The notion in drop (someone) a line "write a letter" (1769) is of dropping a message into a letter-box. Exclamation drop dead to express emphatic dislike or scorn is from 1934; as an adjective meaning "stunning, excellent" it is recorded by 1970 (compare killing, etc.).
drop (n.)
Middle English drope, from Old English dropa "a small, spherical mass of liquid," from Proto-Germanic *drupon (source also of Old Saxon dropo, Old Norse dropi, Dutch drop, Old High German tropfo, German Tropfen (n.)); see drop (v.).
Sense of "minute quantity of anything, least possible amount" is from c. 1200. Meaning "an act of dropping" is from 1630s; of immaterial things (prices, temperatures, etc.) from mid-19c. Meaning "lozenge, hard candy" is 1723, from resemblance in shape. Meaning "secret place where things can be left illicitly and picked up later" is from 1931. Theatrical meaning "painted curtain dropped between scenes to conceal the stage from the audience" is by 1779.
Drop in the bucket (late 14c.) is from Isaiah xl.15 [KJV]. At the drop of a hat "suddenly" is from 1854. To get the drop on "be prepared before one's antagonist" originally was Old West gunslinger slang (1869).
drop-kick (n.)
1849, from drop (n.) + kick (n.). As a verb by 1874. Related: Drop-kicked; drop-kicking.
droplet (n.)
"a little drop," c. 1600, from drop (n.) + diminutive suffix -let.
drop-out (n.)
also dropout, "one who 'drops out' of something" (a course of education, life, etc.), 1930, from the verbal phrase drop out "withdraw or disappear from place" (1550s); see drop (v.) + out (adv.).
dropper (n.)
1700, "a distiller" (in colloquial rum-dropper), agent noun from drop (v.). Meaning "small tube from which liquid may be made to fall in drops" is by 1889.
dropsy (n.)
"morbid accumulation of watery liquid in a part of the body," late 13c., a shortening of Middle English ydropsy, idropsie, from Old French idropsie and directly from Latin hydropsis, from Greek hydrops (genitive hydropos) "dropsy," from hydor "water" (from suffixed form of PIE root *wed- (1) "water; wet").
dropsical (adj.)
"affected with or inclined to dropsy," 1680s; see dropsy + -ical. The Middle English adjective was dropik (early 15c.).
drosophila (n.)
scientific name of the fruit fly, 1829, the genus name, from Modern Latin (Fallén, 1823), from Greek drosos "dew" (which Beekes says is "probably of Pre-Greek origin") + philos "loving" (see -phile).
dross (n.)
"dirt, dregs, refuse or impure matter which separates from a liquid and falls to the bottom or rises to the top," Old English dros "the scum thrown off from metals in smelting," from Proto-Germanic *drohs- (source also of Middle Dutch droes, Dutch droesem, Middle Low German dros, Old High German truosana, German Drusen "dregs, husks"), perhaps from a PIE dher- "to make muddy." Figurative sense of "worthless remainder of what was once valued" is from late 14c. Meaning "refuse, rubbish" is mid-15c.
drought (n.)
Old English drugaþ, drugoþ "continuous dry weather injurious to vegetation, dryness," from Proto-Germanic *drugothaz, from Germanic root *dreug- "dry" with *-itho, Germanic suffix for forming abstract nouns. See dry (adj.) + -th (2), and compare high/height, etc. Drouth was a Middle English variant continued in Scottish and northern English dialect and in poetry.
drove (n.)
"a herd, especially of cattle," Old English draf "beasts driven in a body; road along which cattle are driven," originally "act of driving," from drifan "to drive" (see drive (v.)).
drove (v.)
Old English draf, past tense and obsolete and dialectal past participle of drive (v.).
droves (n.)
see drove (n.) .
drover (n.)
"one who drives cattle or sheep to market," early 15c. (late 13c. as a surname), agent noun from drove (n.).
drown (v.)
early 14c., drounen, "suffocate by immersion in water or other fluid," also intransitive, "be suffocated by immersion (etc.)," also figurative, "to overwhelm or overpower by rising above as a flood," perhaps from an unrecorded variant of Old English druncnian (Middle English druncnen) "be swallowed up by water" (originally of ships as well as living things); at any rate it is probably from the base of drincan "to drink" (see drink (v.) and compare drench).
Or perhaps it is from Old Norse drukna "be drowned," which has at least influenced the modern form of the word, via North of England dialect. Related: Drowned; drowning. To drown (someone or something) out formerly was "to force to come out by influx of water;" in reference to sounds, by 1884.
drowse (v.)
"be heavy with sleep, be half asleep," 1570s, probably a back-formation from drowsy. Old English had a similar word, but there is a 600-year gap. Related: Drowsed; drowsing.The noun meaning "state of being half asleep" is by 1814.
drowsy (adj.)
"inclined to sleep, sleepy," 1520s, probably ultimately from Old English drusan, drusian "sink," also "become languid, slow, or inactive" (related to dreosan "to fall;" see dreary). There is no record of it in Middle English. Related: Drowsily; drowsiness.
Dr. Pepper (n.)
soft drink, patented 1906 by the Dr. Pepper Co., Dallas, Texas; said to have been named for U.S. physician Dr. Charles Pepper (1830-1903), medical doctor and Confederate surgeon during the Civil War.
drub (v.)
"to beat soundly," 1630s (in an Oriental travel narrative), probably ultimately from Arabic darb "a beating," from daraba "he beat up" (see discussion in OED). Related: Drubbed; drubbing.
drubbing (n.)
"a sound beating," 1640s, verbal noun from drub (v.).
drudge (v.)
late 14c., druggen, "work hard, especially at servile, monotonous, or uninteresting work," (and compare druggunge, mid-13c.), probably from a variant of Old English dreogan "to work, suffer, endure," from Proto-Germanic *dreugana (source also of Old Saxon driogan, Old Norse drygja "to carry out, accomplish," Gothic driugan "serve as a soldier"). Related: Drudged; drudging. The surname is from 13c., probably unrelated, from Old French dragie "a mixture of grains sown together," thus, a grower of this crop.
drudge (n.)
late 15c., "one employed in mean, servile, or distasteful work, one who toils at uninteresting employments," from drudge (v.).
drudgery (n.)
"the labor of a drudge; ignoble, spiritless toil," 1540s, from drudge (v.) + -ery.
drugs (n.)
"narcotics, opiates, etc.," 1883; see drug (n.).
drug (v.)
c. 1600, "to mix (a drink, etc.) with drugs, make narcotic or poisonous," from drug (n.). Meaning "dose (a person or animal) to excess with drugs or medications" is from 1730. Related: drugged; drugging.
drug (n.)
late 14c., drogge (early 14c. in Anglo-French), "any substance used in the composition or preparation of medicines," from Old French droge "supply, stock, provision" (14c.), which is of unknown origin. Perhaps it is from Middle Dutch or Middle Low German droge-vate "dry barrels," or droge waere, literally "dry wares" (but specifically drugs and spices), with first element mistaken as indicating the contents, or because medicines mostly consisted of dried herbs.
Compare dry goods (1708), so called because they were measured out in dry (not liquid) measure, and Latin species, in Late Latin "wares," then specialized to "spices" (French épice, English spice). The same source produced Italian and Spanish droga, Swedish drog.
Specific application to "narcotics and opiates" is by late 19c., though the association of the word with "poisons" is from 1500s. Druggie "drug addict" is recorded by 1968. Phrase a drug on (or in) the market "thing which has lost its value and is no longer wanted" (mid-17c.) is of doubtful connection and may be a different word, perhaps a play on drag, which was sometimes written drug c. 1240-1800.
druggist (n.)
"one who deals in drugs, especially one who compounds or prepares drugs according to medical prescriptions," 1610s, from French droguiste, from droge (see drug (n.)). Earlier drugger (1590s).
drug store (n.)
also drug-store, 1810, American English, "pharmacy, store that sells medications and related products," from drug (n.) + store (n.). Drug-store cowboy is 1925, American English slang, originally someone who dressed like a Westerner but obviously wasn't.
Druid (n.)
"one of the order of priests among the ancient Celts of Gaul, Britain, and Ireland," 1560s, from French druide (16c.), from Latin druis, fem. druias (plural druidae), from Gaulish Druides, from Celtic compound *dru-wid- "strong seer," from Old Celtic *derwos "true" (from PIE root *deru- "tree," especially oak) + *wid- "to know" (from PIE root *weid- "to see"). Hence, literally, perhaps, "they who know the oak" (perhaps in allusion to divination from mistletoe). Anglo-Saxon, too, used identical words to mean "tree" and "truth" (treow).
The English form comes via Latin, not immediately from Celtic. Old English had dry "magician," presumably from Old Irish drui. The Old Irish form was drui (dative and accusative druid; plural druad), yielding Modern Irish and Gaelic draoi, genitive druadh "magician, sorcerer." Not to be confused with the United Ancient Order of Druids, a secret benefit society founded in London 1781.
Druidess (n.)
"female Druid; Druidic prophetess or priestess," 1755, from Druid + -ess. Formerly, Druid had been used indifferently of both sexes.
Druidic (adj.)
"of or pertaining to Druids or Druidry," 1773, from Druid + -ic. Related: Druidical.
drum (n.)
early 15c., drom, "percussive musical instrument consisting of a hollow wooden or metallic body and a tightly stretched head of membrane," probably from Middle Dutch tromme "drum," a common Germanic word (compare German Trommel, Danish tromme, Swedish trumma) and probably imitative of the sound of one.
Not common before 1570s; the slightly older, and more common at first, word was drumslade, apparently from Dutch or Low German trommelslag "drum-beat," "though it does not appear how this name of the action came to be applied to the instrument" [OED], and the English word might be a shortening of this. Other earlier words for it were tabour (c. 1300, ultimately from Persian; see tabor) and timpan (Old English; see tympanum).
In machinery, the word was applied to various contrivances resembling a drum from 1740. In anatomy, "the tympanum of the ear," 1610s. Meaning "receptacle having the form of a drum" is by 1812. Drum-major (1590s) originally was "chief or first drummer of a military regiment;" later "one who directs the evolutions of a marching corps."
drum (v.)
"beat or play time on, or announce by beating on, a drum," 1570s, from drum (n.). Meaning "to beat rhythmically or regularly" (with the fingers, etc.) is from 1580s. Meaning "force upon the attention by continual iteration" is by 1820. To drum (up) business, etc., is American English 1839, from the old way of drawing a crowd or attracting recruits. To drum (someone) out "expel formally and march out by the beat of a drum" is originally military, by 1766.
drumhead (n.)
also drum-head, "membrane stretched upon a drum," 1620s, from drum (n.) + head (n.).
drumlin (n.)
"long, narrow ridge or hill of sand, gravel, and boulders," in areas of Ice Age glaciation and formed somehow by the movement of the ice, 1833, a diminutive of earlier drum (1725) "ridge or long, narrow hill," often separating two parallel valleys, from Gaelic and Irish druim "back, ridge." Somewhat similar to, though different in origin (probably) from, an esker, but their exact nature is not quite understood.
drummer (n.)
"one who plays the drum," 1570s, agent noun from drum (v.). Slightly earlier in the same sense was drumslade (1520s). Middle English had tabourer, taborner (fem. tabornester, tabourester) "drummer."
Drummond light (n.)
"calcium light, torch that burns calcium oxide (lime) and gives off intense white light," 1854, named for Scottish engineer Capt. Thomas Drummond, R.E., (1797-1840), who invented it c. 1825.
drumstick (n.)
"one of the sticks used in beating a drum," 1580s, from drum (n.) + stick (n.); applied to the lower joint of cooked fowl by 1764.
drunk (adj.)
past participle and former past tense of drink, used as an adjective from mid-14c. in sense "intoxicated, inebriated." In various expressions, such as drunk as a lord (1891), Drunk as a Wheelbarrow (1709); Chaucer has dronke ... as a Mous (c. 1386). Formerly also, of things, "drenched, saturated" (late 14c.). The noun meaning "drunken person" is from 1852; earlier this would have been a drunkard. Meaning "a spree, a drinking bout" is by 1779.
Medieval folklore distinguished four successive stages of drunkenness, based on the animals they made men resemble: sheep, lion, ape, sow. Drunk driver "intoxicated operator of a vehicle" is attested by 1912 of automobile drivers; from 1898 of horse-drawn vehicles; by 1894 of railroad engineers; drunken driver is older (by 1770). Drunk-tank "jail cell for drunkards" attested by 1912, American English.
drunkard (n.)
"person who is frequently inebriated, one given to excessive use of strong drink," 1520s, droncarde, but probably older (attested from late 13c. as a surname, Mauricius Druncard), from Middle English dronken, participial adjective from drink, + -ard.
drunkenness (n.)
"state of being overpowered by intoxicants," Old English druncennysse; see drunken + -ness. Other Middle English words for it included drunkenhead (c. 1300), drunkenship (mid-15c.).
drunken (adj.)
full form of the past participle of drink. Now chiefly as an adjective, "inebriated;" that sense was in Old English druncena. The meaning "habitually intoxicated" is by 1540s. Also, of things, "soaked, saturated" (early 15c.). Figurative sense of "acting as if drunk, uneven, unsteady" is by 1786. Related: Drunkenly. In the sense "addicted to drink, habitually inebriated" Middle English also had drunc-wile (c. 1200); drunkensom (mid-13c.).
drupaceous (adj.)
"resembling or relating to a drupe or drupes," 1773; see drupe + -aceous.
drupe (n.)
"a stone-fruit," one with a fleshy or soft outer part and a hard nut or stone at the center (as a plum, cherry, apricot, or peach), 1753, from Modern Latin drupa "stone-fruit," from Latin drupa (oliva) "wrinkled olive," from Greek dryppa, short for drypepes "tree-ripened," from drys "tree" (from PIE root *deru- "be firm, solid, steadfast," with specialized senses "wood, tree") + pepon "ripe" (from PIE root *pekw- "to cook, ripen").
drury (n.)
Middle English druerie, "token of love or affection" (c. 1200); "love, affection between the sexes" (mid-13c.); "flirtation; person one loves, paramour" (c. 1300), from Old French druerie, from druz, dru (fem. drue) "darling, beloved, dear friend," ultimately from Germanic. The noun dru was attested in English from early 13c. All now obsolete.
Druse
also Druze, one of a people and Muslim sect centered in the mountains of Lebanon, 1786, from Arabic duruz, plural of darazi, from name of the sect founder, Ismail ad-Darazi (11c.), literally "Ismail the Tailor."
Drusilla
fem. proper name, Latin fem. diminutive of Drusus, a frequent surname in Livian gens, earlier Drausus, of uncertain etymology, perhaps a Celtic word meaning literally "strong" (compare Old Celtic *dru- "oak," also "strong;" see Druid).
druthers (n.)
1895, a jocular formation based on I'd ruther, American English dialectal form of I'd rather (used by Bret Harte as drathers, 1875).
dry (adj.)
Middle English drie "without moisture, comparatively free from water or fluid," from Old English dryge, from Proto-Germanic *draugiz (source also of Middle Low German dröge, Middle Dutch druge, Dutch droog, Old High German trucchon, German trocken, Old Norse draugr), from Germanic root *dreug- "dry."
Meaning "barren" is mid-14c. Of persons, "showing no emotion," c. 1200; of humor or jests, "without show of pleasantry, caustic, sarcastic" early 15c. (implied in dryly). Sense of "uninteresting, tedious" is from 1620s. Of wines, brandy, etc., "free from sweetness or fruity flavor," 1700. Of places prohibiting alcoholic drink, 1870 (dry feast, one at which no liquor is served, is from late 15c.); colloquial dry (n.) "prohibitionist" is by 1888, American English political slang.
Dry goods (1650s) were those dispensed in dry, not liquid, measure. Dry land (that not under the sea) is from early 13c. Dry-nurse "nurse who attends and feeds a child but does not suckle it" is from 1590s. Dry run "rehearsal" is by 1941. Dry ice "solid carbon dioxide" is by 1925.
dry (v.)
Middle English drien, from Old English drygan, "make dry, free from water or moisture of any kind," also intransitive, "lose moisture," cognate with Dutch droogen, Low German drügen, from the source of dry (adj.). Related: Dried; drying. Of liquids, "to evaporate," early 14c. Meaning "to wipe (dishes, etc.) dry after washing up" is by 1935. Dry out in the drug addiction sense is from 1967. Dry up "stop talking" is by 1853.
dryas (n.)
evergreen shrub found in cold or Alpine regions in the northern hemisphere, 1798, from Greek dryas (see dryad). As an indicator of tundra climate, the presence of its remains in lake-bed sediments lent its name to the Younger Dryas, the name given to the period of sharp and sudden return to Ice Age conditions in Europe c. 12,000 years ago.
dryad (n.)
nymph of the woods, 1550s (plural Driades is attested from late 14c.), from Latin dryas, from Greek dryas (plural dryades) "wood nymph," from drus (genitive dryos) "oak," from PIE root *deru- "be firm, solid, steadfast," with specialized senses "wood, tree." Translated in Old English as wuduælfen. Related: Dryadic.
dry-clean (v.)
"to clean clothes or textiles without using water," 1817; see dry (adj.) + clean (v.). Related: Dry-cleaning.
dryer (n.)
agent noun from dry (v.); see drier.
dryly (adv.)
also drily, 1560s, "without moisture;" 1620s, "without affection;" early 15c., "with apparent unintentional humor or sarcasm," from dry (adj.) + -ly (2).
dryness (n.)
"state or character of being dry," Old English drygnes; see dry (adj.) + -ness.
dry rot (n.)
"fungal decay in timber," by 1779, from dry (adj.) + rot (n.). Figurative sense of "concealed or unsuspected inward degeneration" is by 1821.
drywall (n.)
"plasterboard, sheetrock; gypsum-based manufactured panel used in interior construction," by 1952, from dry (adj.) + wall (n.). Earlier dry wall meant "a wall built without mortar" (1778).
D.T.
1858, abbreviation of delirium tremens.
dual (adj.)
c. 1600, in grammar, "the form or number relating to two," from Latin dualis "that contains two; the dual number, duality," from duo "two" (from PIE root *dwo- "two"). General sense of "relating to two, expressing two, composed or consisting of two parts" is from 1650s. Related: Dually.
dualism (n.)
1755 as a term in philosophy, "a way of thinking which explains phenomena by the assumption of two independent and absolute elements," from French dualisme (1754); see dual + -ism. Theological sense of "doctrine of two independent divine beings or eternal principles" is by 1847. General sense of "division into two" is by 1831.
dualistic (adj.)
"of or pertaining to dualism," 1801; see dualism + -istic. Compare French dualistique (by 1764), German dualistisch (1787).
duality (n.)
"twofold nature, state of being two or divided in two," late 14c., from Late Latin dualitas, from Latin dualis "that contains two; the dual number, duality," from duo "two" (from PIE root *dwo- "two").
dub (v.2)
"add or alter sound on film," 1929, shortening of double (v.); so called because it involves making an additional recording of voices and combining it with the soundtrack. The type of re-mixed reggae music was so called from 1974, probably for the same reason. Related: Dubbed; dubbing.
dub (v.1)
"give a name to," originally "make a knight," from late Old English dubbian "knight by ceremonially striking with a sword" (11c.), a word perhaps borrowed from Old French aduber "equip with arms, adorn" (11c.) which is of uncertain origin, probably Germanic, but there are phonetic difficulties. Meaning "provided with a name" is from 1590s. Related: Dubbed; dubbing.
Dubai
Gulf coast emirate, of uncertain origin.
dubiety (n.)
"doubtfulness, dubiousness," 1650s, from Late Latin dubietas "doubt, uncertainty," from Latin dubius "vacillating, fluctuating," figuratively "wavering in opinion, doubting" (see dubious). Earlier in the same sense were dubiosity (1640s), dubiousness (1650s); also see dubitation.
dubious (adj.)
1540s, "puzzling, occasioning doubt or uncertainty;" 1630s, "doubtful, hesitating in opinion;" from Late Latin dubiosus "doubtful," from Latin dubium "doubt," neuter of dubius "vacillating, moving two ways, fluctuating;" figuratively "wavering in opinion, doubting, doubtful," from duo "two" (from PIE root *dwo- "two"), with a sense of "of two minds, undecided between two things." Old English also used tweo "two" to mean "doubt." Compare doubt (v.). Related: Dubiously; dubiousness.
dubitation (n.)
early 15c., dubitacioun, "act or state of doubting," from Old French dubitation (13c.) and directly from Latin dubitationem (nominative dubitatio) "uncertainty, doubt," noun of state from past-participle stem of dubitare "to waver in opinion, be uncertain, doubt, question" (related to dubius "uncertain;" see dubious).
dubitable (adj.)
"liable to be doubted," 1620s, from French dubitable, from Latin dubitabilis "doubtful," from dubitare "hesitate, doubt" (see doubt (v.)). Related: Dubitably.
Dublin
capital of Ireland, literally "black pool," from Irish dubh "black" + linn "pool." In reference to the dark waters of the River Liffey. Related: Dubliner.
Dubonnet (n.)
sweet French aperitif, by 1901, trademark name, from the name of a family of French wine merchants.
ducal (adj.)
"pertaining to a duke," late 15c., from Old French ducal (15c.), from Late Latin ducalis, from Latin dux (genitive ducis) "leader," from PIE root *deuk- "to lead."
ducat (n.)
name of various silver or gold coins in use in several European countries, late 14c., from Old French ducat (late 14c.), Italian ducato (12c.), Medieval Latin ducatus "coin," originally "duchy," from dux (genitive ducis) "duke," from PIE root *deuk- "to lead."
Apparently so called for the name or effigy of Roger II of Sicily, Duke of Apulia, which first issued the coins (c. 1140). Byzantine emperor Constantine X had the Greek form doux struck on his coins during his reign (1059-1067). Over the years it was a unit of currency of varying value in Holland, Russia, Austria, Sweden, Venice, etc. It remained popular as English slang for "money" or "ticket" from its prominence in "The Merchant of Venice."
Duce (n.)
1923, title assumed by Benito Mussolini (1883-1945), fascist leader of Italy; Italian, literally "leader," from Latin ducem, from PIE root *deuk- "to lead."
duchess (n.)
"female sovereign of a duchy; consort or widow of a duke," c. 1300, from Old French duchesse, from Late Latin or Medieval Latin ducissa, fem. of dux "duke" (see duke (n.)). Often spelled dutchess until early 19c. (as in Dutchess County, New York, U.S.).
duchy (n.)
mid-14c., "territory ruled by a duke or duchess," from Old French duché (12c.), from Medieval Latin ducatus "territory of a duke," from Latin dux "leader" (see duke (n.)).
duck (n.1)
waterfowl, natatorial bird of the family Anatidae, Old English duce (found only in genitive ducan) "a duck," literally "a ducker," presumed to be from Old English *ducan "to duck, dive" (see duck (v.)). Replaced Old English ened as the name for the bird, this being from PIE *aneti-, the root of the "duck" noun in most Indo-European languages.
As a term of endearment, attested from 1580s (see ducky). duck-walk, a squatting waddle done by a person, in imitation of a duck, is by 1915; duck soup, slang for "anything easily done," is by 1899. Duck's ass haircut is from 1951. Ducks-and-drakes, skipping flat stones on water, is from 1580s; the figurative sense of "throwing something away recklessly" is c. 1600.
duck (n.2)
"strong, untwilled linen (later cotton) fabric," used for sails and sailors' clothing, 1630s, from Dutch doeck "linen cloth" (Middle Dutch doec), from Proto-Germanic *dōkaz, a word of uncertain etymology (source also of German Tuch "piece of cloth," Danish dug, Old Frisian dok, Old High German tuoh).
duck (v.)
c. 1300, "to plunge into" (transitive); mid-14c., "to suddenly go under water and immediately withdraw" (intransitive); from a presumed Old English *ducan "to duck," found only in derivative duce (n.) "duck" (but there are cognate words in other Germanic languages, such as Old High German tuhhan "to dip," German tauchen "to dive," Old Frisian duka, Middle Dutch duken "to dip, dive," Dutch duiken), from Proto-Germanic *dukjanan.
The sense of "to lower or bend down suddenly, stoop quickly," as in dodging, is recorded by 1520s. Related: Ducked; ducking. The noun is attested from 1550s in the sense of "a quick stoop;" meaning "a plunge, a dip" is from 1843.
duck-billed (adj.)
"having a bill like a duck," 1800, originally of the platypus; see duck (n.1) + bill (n.2).
ducky (adj.)
"excellent," slang from 1897 (often ironical),perhaps from duckie as a term of endearment (by 1853). Rev. Palmer ["Folk-Etymology," 1882] finds the use of duck as a term of endearment "identical with Danish dukke, a baby or puppet (Wolff), Ger. docke, a doll or puppet, Shetland duckie, a doll or little girl ...," and thinks it probably is not a metaphoric use of the water-bird word, or related to the much earlier slang or dialectal noun meaning "a woman's breast" ["...whose pritty duckys I trust shortly to kysse," Henry VIII, c. 1536 letter to Anne Boleyn, who, contrary to historical rumor, did not have three of them], which perhaps is from dug (n.).
duckling (n.)
"a young duck," early 15c., from duck (n.1) + -ling. The ugly duckling is from Hans Christian Andersen's tale (1843 in Danish, by 1846 in English).
duct (n.)
1640s, "course, direction," from Latin ductus "a leading, a conduit pipe," noun use of past participle of ducere "to lead" (from PIE root *deuk- "to lead"). Anatomical sense "vessel of an animal body by which blood, lymph, etc., are conveyed" is from 1660s. Meaning "conduit, channel" is 1713; that of "air tube in a structure" is from 1884.
Duct tape originally was duck tape (1894), long, non-adhesive strips of plain cotton duck cloth used in various mechanical processes; from duck (n.2). The name was transferred to a plastic-coated adhesive tape used by U.S. soldiers in World War II (perhaps in part because it was waterproof). It continued in civilian use after the war, and the name shifted to duct tape by 1958, perhaps because it was frequently used on air ducts, which also accounts for its standard silver-gray color.
ductile (adj.)
mid-14c., "hammered, beaten out or shaped with a hammer," from Old French ductile or directly from Latin ductilis "that may be led or drawn," from past participle of ducere "to lead" (from PIE root *deuk- "to lead"). From 1560s as "flexible, pliable;" 1620s as "capable of being drawn out in wires or threads." Of persons, "capable of being led or drawn," 1620s. Related: Ductility.
duds (n.)
c. 1300, dudde "cloak, mantle," later, in plural, "clothes," especially "ragged clothing" (1560s), of uncertain origin but probably from an unrecorded Old English word. Compare Old Norse duði, Low German dudel. Related: Duddery "place where rags are kept for sale" (1550s); dudman "scarecrow, man made of rags" (1670s); duddy "ragged, tattered" (1725).
dud (n.)
1825, "person in ragged clothing," from duds (q.v.). Sense extended by 1897 to "counterfeit thing," and 1908 to "useless, inefficient person or thing." This led naturally in World War I to "shell which fails to explode," and thence to "expensive failure."
dude (n.)
1883, "fastidious man," New York City slang of unknown origin; recent research suggests it is a shortening of Yankee Doodle, based on the song's notion of "foppish, over-fastidious male" (compare macaroni). The vogue word of 1883, originally used in reference to the devotees of the "aesthetic" craze, later applied to city slickers, especially Easterners vacationing in the West (as in dude ranch "ranch which entertains guests and tourists for pay," attested by 1921). "The term has no antecedent record, and is prob. merely one of the spontaneous products of popular slang" [Century Dictionary].
Application to any male is recorded by 1966, U.S., originally in African-American vernacular.
dudeism (n.)
1883, "the dress, manners, and social peculiarities of the class known as dudes" [Century Dictionary], from dude + -ism.
dudette (n.)
"woman, girl," by 1991, from dude in the surfer/teen slang sense + fem. ending -ette. Earlier (in the fastidious dresser/Old West sense) were dudine (1883), dudess (1885).