A- (3) prefix meaning "not," from Gk a-, an- "not," from pie base *ne "not" (see un-)

dandy (n.) --- c.1780, of uncertain origin, first appeared in a Scottish border ballad: I've heard my granny crack O' sixty twa years back When there were sic a stock of Dandies O etc. In that region, Dandy is dim. of Andrew. In vogue in London c.1813-19. His fem. counterpart was a dandizette (1821) with Fr.-type ending. The adjective dandy first recorded 1792; very popular c.1880-1900.

Dane --- from Dan. Daner (replacing O.E. Dene (pl.)); used in O.E. of Northmen generally. Perhaps ult. from O.H.G. tanar "sand bank," in ref. to their homeland. Applied 1774 to a breed of large dogs. Danegeld not known by that name in O.E., or until 1086, long after the end of the Viking depredations. Supposedly originally a tax to pay for protection from the Northmen (either to outfit defensive armies or to buy peace). Danelaw (c.1050) was the Danish law in force over that large part of England under Viking rule after c.878; the application to the land itself is modern (1837).

dang --- 1793, euphemism for damn.

danger --- c.1225, "power of a lord or master, jurisdiction," from Anglo-Fr. daunger, from O.Fr. dangier "power to harm, mastery," alteration (due to assoc. with damnum) of dongier, from V.L. *dominarium "power of a lord," from L. dominus "lord, master" (see domain). Modern sense of "risk, peril" (from being in the control of someone or something else) evolved first in Fr., and in Eng. 1375. Replaced O.E. pleoh.

dangle --- c.1590, probably from Scandinavian (cf. Dan. dangle, Norw. dangla), perhaps via N.Fris. dangeln.

Daniel --- proper name, Heb., lit. "God is my judge;" related to Dan, lit. "he who judges," the tribe descended from Jacob's son of that name in O.T.

Danish --- O.E. Denisc "people of Denmark;" danish pastry is 1934; shortened form danish is from 1963.

dank --- c.1400, earlier as a verb (c.1310), now obsolete, meaning "to moisten," used of mists, dews, etc. Perhaps from Scand. or German. Now largely superseded by damp.

dapper --- c.1440, from M.Du. or M.L.G. dapper "bold, strong, sturdy," from P.Gmc. *dapraz; perhaps with ironical shift of meaning.

dapple --- c.1400 (dappled), perhaps a back-formation from dapple-grey "apple-grey" (c.1386), by resemblance to the markings on an apple (cf. O.N. apalgrar "dapple-gray"), or, as it was used of gray horses with round blotches, perhaps of apples themselves.

dare --- O.E. durran "to brave danger," from P.Gmc. *ders-, from PIE *dhers- (cf. Skt. dadharsha "to be bold," O.Pers. darš- "to dare," Gk. thrasys "bold," O.C.S. druzate "to be bold, dare"). An O.E. irregular preterite-present verb: darr, dearst, dear were first, second and third person singular present indicative; mostly regularized 16c., though past tense dorste survived as durst, but is now dying, persisting mainly in northern Eng. dialect. Meaning "to challenge or defy (someone)" is first recorded 1580. Daredevil is from 1794.

Darius --- name of three Persian rulers, notably Darius the Great, Persian emperor 521-485 BCE, from Gk. Darius, from O.Pers. Darayavaus, probably lit. "he who holds firm the good."

dark --- O.E. deorc, from P.Gmc. *derkaz. "Absence of light" especially at night is the original meaning. Meaning "gloomy, cheerless" was also in O.E. The Anglo-Saxons also had a useful verb, sweorcan, meaning "to grow dark." Application to colors is 16c. Theater slang for "closed" is from 1916; darky, for "black person" is from 1775; dark horse is 1842, from horse racing. In the dark "ignorant" first recorded 1677; Dark Ages is from 1730, in reference to the illiterate and uneducated state of Europe for centuries after the fall of Rome.

darling --- O.E. deorling, double dim. of deor "dear." The vowel shift from -e- to -a- (16c.) is usual for -er- followed by a consonant. "It is better to be An olde mans derlyng, than a yong mans werlyng" (1562).

darn (1) --- mend c.1600, perhaps from M.Fr. darner "mend," from darne "piece," from Breton darn "piece, fragment, part." Alternative etymology is from obs. dern, from O.E. diernan "to hide," from dierne "secret," from W.Gmc. *darnjaz.

darn (2) --- tame curse word, 1781, Amer.Eng. euphemism for damn, said to have originated in New England when swearing was a punishable offense; if so, its spread was probably infl. by 'tarnal, short for Eternal, as in By the Eternal (God), favorite exclamation of Andrew Jackson, among others.

dart --- c.1314, from O.Fr. dart, from P.Gmc. *darothuz, source of O.E. daroð. Verb meaning "to move like a dart" is attested from 1619.

Darwinism --- 1864, from Charles Darwin (1809-1882), whose major works were "The Origin of Species" (1859) and "The Descent of Man" (1871). Darwin's family name is from O.E. deorwine "dear-friend" (10c.)

dash --- 1297, probably from a Scandinavian source, somehow imitative. The oldest sense is that in dash to pieces and dashed hopes. Intrans. meaning "move quickly" appeared c.1300, that of "to write hurriedly" is 1726. Sporting sense of "race run in one heat" is from 1881. Dashboard of an automobile is first recorded 1904, from earlier meaning "board in front of a carriage to stop mud from being splashed ("dashed") into the vehicle by the horse's hoofs" (1846).

dashiki --- 1969, of W.Afr. origin.

dashing --- 1801, "given to cutting a dash," (1786), which was a colloquial expression for "acting brilliantly," from dash in the sense of "showy appearance," which is attested from 1715.

dastardly --- 1567, "showing despicable cowardice," originally "dull," from M.E. dastard (c.1440), from *dast "dazed," pp. of dasen "to daze" + -ard deprecatory suffix. The earliest sense of dastard was "one who is lazy or dull;" sense of "one who shrinks from danger" is 1470s.

data --- 1646, pl. of datum, from L. datum "(thing) given," neuter pp. of dare "to give" (see date (1)). Meaning "transmittable and storable computer information" first recorded 1946. Data processing is from 1954. Database formed 1962, from data + base.

date (1) --- time, c.1330, from O.Fr. date, from M.L. data, noun use of fem. sing. of L. datus "given," pp. of dare "to give, grant, offer," from PIE base *do- "to give" (cf. Skt. dadati "gives," O.Pers. dadatuv "let him give," O.C.S. dati "give," Gk. didomi, didonai, "to give, offer," O.Ir. dan "gift, talent"). The Roman convention of closing every article of correspondence by writing "given" and the day and month -- meaning "given to messenger" -- led to data becoming a term for "the time (and place) stated." The meaning "to give" is also the root of the grammatical dative (M.E.), the case of giving. Dateline in the journalism sense is attested from 1888. Phrase up to date (1890) is from bookkeeping. Dated "old-fashioned" is attested from 1900. Date (n.) "romantic liaison" is from 1885, gradually evolving from the general sense of "appointment;" the verb in this sense is first recorded 1902. Meaning "person one has a date with" is from 1925. Blind date first recorded 1925, but probably in use before that. Date rape first attested 1975.

date (2) --- fruit, c.1290, from O.Fr. date, from O.Prov. datil, from L. dactylus, from Gk. daktylos "date," orig. "finger, toe," because of fancied resemblance between oblong fruit of the date palm and human digits. Possibly from a Sem. source (cf. Heb. deqel, Aram. diqla, Arabic daqal "date palm") and assimilated to the Gk. word for "finger."

daub --- c.1325, from O.Fr. dauber "to whitewash, plaster," probably from L. dealbare, from de- "thoroughly" + albare "to whiten," from albus "white." Painting sense is from 1630.

daughter --- O.E. dohtor, from P.Gmc. *dochter, earlier *dhukter, from PIE *dhugheter (cf. Ger. tochter, Skt. duhitar-, Armenian dustr, O.C.S. dusti, Lith. dukte, Gk. thygater). The modern spelling evolved in southern England, 16c.

daunt --- c.1300, from O.Fr. danter, var. of donter, from L. domitare, freq. of domare "to tame" (see tame). Originally "to vanquish;" sense of "to intimidate" is from c.1475.

dauphin --- eldest son of the king of France (title in use from 1349-1830), 1485, from Fr. dauphin, lit. "dolphin" (see dolphin). Originally the title attached to "the Dauphin of Viennois," whose province (in the Fr. Alps north of Provence) came to be known as Dauphiné. Three dolphins were on the coat of arms of the lords of Viennois, first worn by Guido IV (d.1142). It is said to have been originally a personal name among the lords of Viennois. Humbert III, the last lord of Dauphiné, ceded the province to Philip of Valois in 1349, on condition that the title be perpetuated by the eldest son of the king of France.

davenport --- large upholstered couch, 1897, apparently named for the manufacturer. Earlier (1853) "a kind of small ornamental writing table." The proper name is attested from 12c., from a place in Cheshire (O.E. Devennport).

David --- masc. proper name, in O.T. second king of Israel and Judah and author of psalms, from Heb. Dawidh, lit. "darling, beloved friend." The name was common in England and Scotland by 12c., but much earlier in Wales. A nickname form was Dawe, hence surnames Dawson, Dawkins.

Davis Cup --- donated 1900 as a national tennis championship trophy by U.S. statesman Dwight Filley Davis (1879-1945) while still an undergraduate at Harvard.

Davy Jones --- the spirit of the sea, 1751, first mentioned in Smollett's "The Adventures of Peregrin Pickle" (chapter 15) as an ominous and terrifying fiend who "presides over all the evil spirits of the deep, and is often seen in various shapes, perching among the rigging on the eve of hurricanes, shipwrecks and other disasters." Davy Jones's Locker "bottom of the sea," is 1803, from nautical slang, of unknown origin; second element may be from biblical Jonah, regarded as unlucky by sailors.

daw --- 1432, from P.Gmc. *dakhwo, perhaps imitative of bird's cry.

dawdle --- c.1656, perhaps a variant of daddle "to walk unsteadily." Perhaps influenced by daw, since the bird was regarded as sluggish and silly. Not in general use until c.1775.

dawg --- colloquial for dog, attested from 1898.

dawn (v.) --- 1499, shortened from dawning, dawing (1297), from O.E. dagung, from dagian "to become day," from root of dæg "day" (see day). Probably influenced by a Scandinavian word (cf. Dan. dagning, O.N. dagan). The noun is first recorded 1599.

day --- O.E. dæg, from P.Gmc. *dagaz, from PIE *dhegh-. Not considered to be related to L. dies (see diurnal), but rather to Skt. dah "to burn," Lith. dagas "hot season," O.Prus. dagis "summer." Meaning originally, in Eng., "the daylight hours," expanded to mean "the 24-hour period" in late O.E. Daydream is 1685 (n.), 1820 (v.). Day off first recorded 1883; day-tripper first recorded 1897; daylight in slang sense of "clear open space between two things" is from 1820. Day-Glo is 1951, proprietary name (Dane & Co. of London) for a brand of fluorescent paint. The days in nowadays, etc. is a relic of the O.E. and M.E. use of the adverbial genitive.

daylight --- c.1300; its fig. sense of "clearly visible space" has been used in references to boats in a race, U.S. football running backs avoiding opposing tackles, a rider and a saddle, and the rim of a glass and the surface of the liquor. The daylights that you beat out of someone were originally slang for "the eyes" (1752), extended figuratively to the vital senses.

daze (v.) --- c.1325, dasen, from O.N. *dasa. Not found in other Gmc. languages. Perhaps originally "to make weary with cold," which is the sense of Icelandic dasask (from the O.N. word). The noun meaning "a dazed condition" is from 1825.

dazzle --- 1481, frequentative of M.E. dasen (see daze). Originally intrans.; the trans. sense is from 1536.

D-day --- 1918, "date set for the beginning of a military operation," with D as an abbreviation of day, cf. H-hour, also from the same military order of Sept. 7, 1918: "The First Army will attack at H-Hour on D-Day with the object of forcing the evacuation of the St. Mihiel salient." [Field Order No. 8, First Army, A.E.F.] They designate the day and hour of the operation when the day and hour have not yet been determined, or where secrecy is essential [U.S. Army Center of Military History Web site]. Now almost exclusively of June 6, 1944.

de --- L. adv. and prep. meaning "down from, off, concerning." Used as a prefix in Eng., as in defrost (1895), defuse (1943), decaffeination (1927), etc. Usually felt as meaning "down," but in L. it could also be completive in intensive (cf. demerit), perhaps with a sense of "down to the bottom, totally." Also in de facto "in fact" (1602), which is usually contrasted with de jure "of right, according to law" (1611), both now used as adjs. in Eng.

deacon --- O.E. deacon, from L. diaconus, from Gk. diakonos "servant of the church, religious official," lit. "servant."

dead --- O.E. dead, from P.Gmc. *dauthaz, from PIE *dheu-. Meaning "insensible" is first attested c.1225. Of places, meaning "inactive, dull," it is recorded from 1581. Used from 16c. in adj. sense of "utter, absolute, quite." Dead heat is from 1796. Dead reckoning may be from nautical abbreviation ded. ("deduced") in log books, but it also fits dead (adj.) in the sense of "unrelieved, absolute." Dead man's hand in poker, pair of aces and pair of eights, supposedly what Wild Bill Hickock held when Jack McCall shot him in 1876. Dead soldier "emptied liquor bottle" is military slang from 1913. Dead on is 1889, from marksmanship; dead drunk first attested 1599; dead duck is from 1844. Dead letter is from 1703, used of laws lacking force as well as uncollected mail; dead end is from 1886. Phrase in the dead of the night first recorded 1548. Dead Sea is L. Mare Mortum, Gk. he nekra thalassa (Aristotle); its water is 26 percent salt (as opposed to 3 or 4 percent in most oceans) and supports practically no life. "For but ich haue bote of mi bale I am ded as dorenail" (c.1350).

deadbeat --- worthless sponging idler, 1877, Amer.Eng. slang, from dead + beat; earlier used colloquially to mean "completely beaten" (1821).

Deadhead --- 1970s in sense of "devotee of the band the Grateful Dead;" earlier "train or truck carrying no passengers or freight" (1911) and "non-paying spectator" (1841).

deadline --- time limit, 1920, Amer.Eng. newspaper jargon. Perhaps influenced by earlier use (1864) to mean the "do-not-cross" line in Civil War prisons: "Seventeen feet from the inner stockade was the 'dead-line,' over which no man could pass and live." [Lossing, 1868]

deadlock --- complete standstill, first attested 1779 in Sheridan's play "The Critic."

deadpan --- 1928, from dead + pan in slang sense of "face."

deadwood --- 1887 in fig. sense of "useless person or thing," orig. Amer.Eng.

deaf --- O.E. deaf "deaf, dull, obtuse," specialized from P.Gmc. *daubaz, from PIE dheubh-, which was used to form words meaning "confusion, stupefaction, dizziness" (cf. Gk. typhlos "blind). The word was pronounced to rhyme with reef until 18c. Deaf-mute is from 1837, after Fr. sourd-muet. Deaf-mutes were sought after in 18c.-19c. Britain as fortune-tellers. Deaf as an adder (O.E.) is from Psalms lviii.5.

deal (1) --- from O.E. dæl "part, share, quantity," and its verbal derivative dælan "to divide," from P.Gmc. *dailaz; also found in Balto-Slavic (cf. O.C.S. delu "part," Lith. dalis). Meaning "to distribute cards before a game" is from 1529; business sense is 1837, originally slang. Meaning "an amount" is from 1562. New Deal is from F.D. Roosevelt speech of July 1932. Big deal is 1928; ironic use first recorded 1951 in "Catcher in the Rye." To deal with "handle" is attested from 1469. Dealership is from 1916.

deal (2) --- plank or board of pine, 1402, from Low Ger. (cf. M.L.G. dele), from P.Gmc. *theljon. An O.E. derivative was þelu "hewn wood, board, flooring."

dean --- c.1330, from O.Fr. deien, from L.L. decanus "head of a group of 10 monks in a monastery," from earlier secular meaning "commander of 10 soldiers" (which was extended to civil administrators in the late empire), from Gk. dekanos, from deka "ten." Replaced O.E. teoðingealdor. College sense is from 1577 (in L. from 1271).

dear --- O.E. deore "precious, valuable, costly, loved," from W.Gmc. *deurjaz, ultimate origin unknown. Used interjectorily since 1694. As an introductory word to letters, it is attested from 1450.

dearborn --- light four-wheeled wagon, 1841, Amer.Eng., from the inventor's name.

dearth --- c.1250, derthe "scarcity," abstract n. formed from root of O.E. deore "precious, costly" (see dear). Originally used of famines, when food was costly because scarce.

death --- O.E. deað, from P.Gmc. *dauthaz, from verbal stem *dau- "die" + *-thuz suffix indicating "act, process, condition." Death's-head, a symbol of mortality, is from 1596. Death row first recorded 1940s. Slang be death on "be very good at" is from 1839. Deathbed in O.E. was "the grave;" meaning "bed on which someone dies" is from c.1400. Death wish first recorded 1896. The death-watch beetle (1668) inhabits houses, makes a ticking noise like a watch, and is superstitiously supposed to portend death.

debacle --- disaster, 1848, fig. use of Fr. débâcle "breaking up of ice on a river," extended to the violent flood that follows when the river ice melts in spring, from débâcler "to free," from M.Fr. desbacler "to unbar," from des- "off" + bacler "to bar," from V.L. *bacculare, from L. baculum "stick." Sense of "disaster" was present in Fr. before Eng. borrowed the word.

debase --- 1568, from base "low," on analogy of abase.

debate --- c.1300, from Fr. debattre (13c.), orig. "to fight," from de- "down, completely" + batre "to beat."

debauch --- 1595, from M.Fr. debaucher "entice from work or duty," from O.Fr. desbaucher "to lead astray," supposedly lit. "to trim (wood) to make a beam" (from bauch "beam," from Frank. balk; from the same Gmc. source that yielded Eng. balk, q.v.). A sense of "shaving" something away, perhaps, but the root is also said to be a word meaning "workshop," which gets toward the notion of "to lure someone off the job;" either way the sense evolution is unclear. "Debauchee, n. One who has so earnestly pursued pleasure that he has had the misfortune to overtake it." [Ambrose Bierce, "Devil's Dictionary," 1911]

debenture --- c.1455, from L. debentur "there are due," said to have been the first word in formal certificates of indebtedness.

debility --- 1474, from M.Fr. debilite, from L. debilitatem (nom. debilitas), from debilis "weak," from de- "from, away" + -bilis "strength," from PIE base *bel- (see Bolshevik).

debit --- c.1450, from M.Fr. debet, from L. debilitum "thing owed," neut. pp. of debere "to owe" (see debt).

debonair --- c.1225, from O.Fr., from de bon' aire "of good race," originally used of hawks, hence, "thoroughbred" (opposite of Fr. demalaire). Used in M.E. to mean "docile, courteous," it became obsolete and was revived with an altered sense of "pleasant, affable" (1685).

Deborah --- prophetess and judge in the O.T., in Heb., lit. "bee" (thus the name is the same as Melissa).

deboshed --- 1599, Anglicized spelling of Fr. pronunciation of debauched "dissolute" (see debauch). Obsolete in England after mid-17c., retained in Scotland, and given a revival of sorts by Scott (1826), so that it turns up in 19c. literary works.

debrief --- obtain information (from someone) at the end of a mission, 1945, from de- + brief (v.).

debris --- 1708, from Fr. debriser "break down, crush," from O.Fr. briser "to break," from L.L. brisare, possibly of Gaulish origin.

debt --- c.1290, from O.Fr. dete, from L. debitam "thing owed," neut. pp. of debere "to owe," originally, "keep something away from someone," from de- "away" + habere "to have" (see habit). Restored spelling after c.1400 from M.E. dette. The KJV has detter three times, debter three times, debtor twice and debtour once.

debunk --- 1923, first used by U.S. novelist William Woodward (1874-1950), the notion being "to take the bunk out of things" (see bunk).

debut (n.) --- 1751, fig. sense from Fr. débuter "make the first stroke at billiards," also "to lead off at bowls" (a game akin to bowling), from but "mark, goal," from O.Fr. bot "end." The verb is first attested 1830. Debutante is 1801, from fem. prp. of Fr. débuter; slang shortening deb dates from 1920.

decade --- c.1451, "ten parts" (of anything; originally in ref. to the books of Livy), from M.Fr. decade, from L.L. decadem (nom. decas), from Gk. dekas (acc. dekada) "group of ten." Meaning "ten years" is 1594 in Eng.

decadence --- 1549, from M.Fr. decadence (1413), from M.L. decadentia "decay," from decadentem (nom. decadens) "decaying," prp. of decadere "to decay," from L. de- "apart, down" + cadere "to fall" (see case (1)). Used of periods in art since 1852, on Fr. model. Decadent is from 1837.

decal --- 1937 shortening of decalcomania, from Fr. decalcomanie, from decalquer, "transferring of a tracing from specially prepared paper to glass, porcelain, etc." (in vogue in France 1840s, England 1862-64), from de- "off" + calquer "to press," from It. calcare, from L. calcare "to tread on, press."

Decalogue --- 1382, from M.Fr. decalogue, from L. decalogus, from Gk., from the phrase hoi deka logoi used to translate "Ten Commandments" in Septuagint.

Decameron --- 1609, from Boccaccio's 14c. collection of 100 tales supposedly told over 10 days, from Gk. deka "ten" + hemera "day."

decant --- 1633, "pour off the clear liquid from a solution by gently tipping the vessel," originally an alchemical term, from Fr. decanter, from M.L. decanthare, from canthus "corner, lip of a jug," from Gk. kanthos "corner of the eye," on a perceived resemblance between the beaked lip of a jug and the corner of the eye. Decanter is 1712.

decapitate --- 1611, from Fr. decapiter, from L.L. decapitatus pp. of decapitare, from L. de- "off" + caput (gen. capitis) "head" (see head).

decathlon --- 1912, from deca "ten" + Gk. athlon "contest, prize." A modern Olympic event consisting of 10 challenges.

decay --- c.1460, from O.Fr. decair, from V.L. *decadere "to fall off," from L. cadere "to fall" (see case (1)). Meaning "gradual decrease in radioactivity" is from 1897.

decease --- c.1330, from Fr. deces, from L. decessus "death," lit. "departure" (euphemism for mors), from pp. stem of decedere "die," from de- "away" + cedere "go" (see cede). Still used with a tinge of euphemism.

deceit --- c.1300, from O.Fr. deceite, fem. pp. of deceveir (see deceive).

deceive --- c.1300, from O.Fr. deceveir, from L. decipere "to ensnare, take in," from de- "from" or pejorative + capere "to take" (see capable).

deceleration --- 1897, coined from de- "do the opposite of" + (ac)celeration.

December --- c.1000, from O.Fr. decembre, from L. December, from decem "ten;" tenth month of the old Roman calendar, which began with March. The -ber in four L. month names is probably from -bris, an adjectival suffix. Tucker thinks that the first five months were named for their positions in the agricultural cycle, and "after the gathering in of the crops, the months were merely numbered." If the word contains an element related to mensis, we must assume a *decemo-membris (from *-mensris). October must then be by analogy from a false division Sep-tem-ber &c. Perhaps, however, from *de-cem(o)-mr-is, i.e. "forming the tenth part or division," from *mer- ..., while October = *octuo-mr-is. [T.G. Tucker, "Etymological Dictionary of Latin"]

decent --- 1539, "proper to one's station or rank," also "tasteful," from M.Fr. decent, from L. decentem (nom. decens, gen. decentis), prp. of decere "to be fitting or suitable," from PIE *deke-, from base *dek- "to take, accept, to receive, greet, be suitable" (cf. Gk. dokein "to appear, seem, think," dekhesthai "to accept;" Skt. dacasyati "shows honor, is gracious," dacati "makes offerings, bestows"). Meaning "kind, pleasant" is from 1902. Decency is 1567 in sense of "appropriateness," 1639 in sense of "modesty." Are you decent? (1949) was originally backstage theater jargon for "are you dressed."