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

doughnut --- 1809, Amer.Eng., from dough + nut. First recorded by Washington Irving, who described them as "balls of sweetened dough, fried in hog's fat, and called doughnuts, or olykoeks."

doughty --- O.E. dohtig "competent, good, valiant," from dyhtig "strong," related to dugan "to be fit, be able, be strong," and influenced by its p.p., dohte. All from PIE *dheugh- "to be fit, be of use, proper" (cf. Ger. Tugend "virtue," Gk. teukhein "to make ready," Ir. dual "becoming, fit," Rus. duzij "strong, robust"). Rare after 17c.; in deliberately archaic or mock-heroic use since c.1800. If it had survived, its modern form would be dighty.

Douglas --- family name, later male personal name, from Gael. Dubh glas "the dark water," name of a place in Lanarkshire. Douglas fir named for David Douglas (1798-1834), Scottish botanist who first recorded it in Pacific Northwest, 1825. Douglas scheme, Douglas plan, Douglassite, etc. refer to "social credit" economic model put forth by British engineer Maj. Clifford Hugh Douglas (1879-1952).

dour --- 1375, "severe," from Scottish and northern England dialect, probably from L. durus "hard" (see endure); sense of "gloomy" is c.1470.

douse --- 1559, "to strike, punch," which is probably from M.Du. dossen "beat forcefully." Meaning "to strike a sail in haste" is recorded from 1627; that of "to extinguish (a light)" is from 1785; perhaps influenced by dout (1526), an obsolete contraction of do out (cf. doff, don). OED regards the meaning "to throw water over" (1606) as a separate word, of unknown origin, though admitting there may be a connection of some sort.

dove --- probably from O.E. dufe- (found only in compounds), from P.Gmc. *dubon, perhaps related to words for "dive," from its flight. Originally applied to all pigeons, now mostly restricted to the turtle dove. A symbol of gentleness from early Christian times, also of the Holy Spirit (cf. Gen. viii.8-12); political meaning "person who advocates peace" first attested 1962, during Cuban Missile Crisis. Dovetail (v.) first recorded 1657, from resemblance of shape in the tenon or mortise of the joints (cf. dovetail joint, attested from 1565).

Dover --- port in Kent, Dofras (c.700), from L. Dubris (4c.), from Brit. *Dubras "the waters." Named for the stream that flows nearby.

Dow Jones --- short for Dow Jones Industrial Average, first published 1884 by Charles Henry Dow (d.1902) and Edward D. Jones (d.1920), later publishers of "The Wall Street Journal."

dowager --- 1530, from M.Fr. douagere "pertaining to a dower," from douage "dower," from douer "endow," from L. dotare, from dos (gen. dotis) "dowry" (see dowry).

dowdy --- 1581 (n.), 1676 (adj.), probably dim. of doue "poorly dressed woman" (1330), of uncertain origin. The modern use of dowd (n.) is most likely a back-formation from dowdy. "If plaine or homely, wee saie she is a doudie or a slut" [1581]. "You don't have to be dowdy to be a Christian." [Tammy Faye Bakker, "Newsweek," June 8, 1987]

dowel --- c.1330, dule "rim or section of a wheel," perhaps akin to M.L.G. dovel "plug, tap" (of a cask). Modern meaning is first attested 1794.

dower --- 1292, from O.Fr. douaire (see dowry).

down (adv.) --- O.E. ofdune "downwards," from dune "from the hill," dat. of dun "hill" (see down (n.2)). Used as a preposition since 1508. Sense of "depressed mentally" is attested from 1610. Slang sense of "aware, wide awake" is attested from 1812. Computer sense is from 1965. Down-and-out is from 1889, Amer.Eng., from situation of a beaten prizefighter; downcast in the sense of "dejected" is from 1633; downpour is recorded from 1811; downright was in M.E.; downtrodden in the figurative sense of "oppressed" is from 1595. Down home (adj.) is 1931, Amer.Eng.; downplay (v.) "de-emphasize" first attested 1968; down the hatch as a toast is from 1931; down to the wire is 1901, from horse-racing. Downtown first attested 1835, Amer.Eng. Download is a computerese word from 1980. Down time is from 1952. Down-to-earth (adj.) is from 1932. Downfall "ruin" is from c.1300. Down under "Australia and New Zealand" attested from 1886; Down East "Maine" is from 1825.

down (n.1) --- soft feathers, c.1369, from O.N. dunn, perhaps ult. from PIE base *dheu- "to fly about (like dust), to whirl, shake."

down (n.2) --- O.E. dun "hill," from Celtic word for "hill, citadel" (cf. O.Ir. dun "hill, hill fort," and second element in place names London, Verdun, etc.), from PIE base *dheue- "to close, finish, come full circle" (cf. O.E. dun "hill," M.Du. dune "sandy hill"). Meaning "elevated rolling grassland" is from 1297.

downbeat --- 1876, in ref. to downward stroke of a conductor's baton; 1952 in fig. sense of "pessimistic," but probably just from the association of the word down, since the beat itself is no more pessimistic than the upbeat (q.v.) is optimistic.

downcast (adj.) --- 1602, from pp. of obs. verb downcast (c.1300), from down (adv.) + cast (v.).

downer --- 1966 in sense of "barbiturate;" 1970 in sense of "depressing person." From down (adv.).

Downing Street --- short street in London, named for British diplomat Sir George Downing (c.1624-1684). It contains the residence of the prime minister (at Number 10), hence its metonymic use for "the British government," attested from 1781.

Down's Syndrome --- 1961, from J.L.H. Down (1828-96), English physician; chosen as a less racist name for the condition than earlier mongolism.

downscale --- 1945, Amer.Eng., as a verb; 1966 as an adj., from down (adv.) + scale (v.).

dowry --- c.1330, from Anglo-Fr. dowarie, from O.Fr. douaire, from M.L. dotarium, from L. dos (gen. dotis) "marriage portion," from PIE *do-ti, (cf. Skt. dadati, Gk. didonai, O.C.S. dati, Lith. duoti, Arm. tam, all meaning "to give"), from base *do- "to give." Related to L. donum "a giving, gift;" dare "to give" (see date (1)).

dowse --- 1691, south England dial., of uncertain origin, said to have been introduced to Devon by Ger. miners in Elizabethan times.

doxology --- 1649, from M.L. doxologia, from Gk. doxologia, from doxologos "praising, glorifying," from doxa "glory, praise" (from dokein "to seem good;" see decent) + logos "a speaking."

doyen --- 1422, from M.Fr. doyen "commander of ten," from O.Fr. deien (see dean). Fem. form doyenne is attested from 1905.

doze --- 1647, probably from Scand. (cf. Dan. dose "to make dull," Sw. dial. dusa "to sleep"); related to O.E. dysig "foolish" (see dizzy). May have existed in dialect earlier than attested date.

dozen --- c.1300, from O.Fr. dozeine "a dozen," from douze "twelve," from L. duodecim, from duo "two" + decem "ten." The O.Fr. fem. suffix -aine is characteristically added to cardinals to form collectives in a precise sense ("exactly 12," not "about 12"). The dozens "invective contest" (1928) originated in slave culture, the custom probably African, the word probably from bulldoze (q.v.) in its original sense of "a whipping, a thrashing."

Dr. Pepper --- soft drink, patented 1906 by the Dr. Pepper Co., Dallas, Texas, named for U.S. physician Dr. Charles Pepper.

drab --- 1686, "color of natural, undyed cloth," from M.Fr. drap (see drape). Figurative sense is c.1880. Apparently not related to earlier word meaning "a dirty, untidy woman" (c.1515), "a prostitute" (c.1530), which seems to be connected with Ir. drabog, Gael. drabag "dirty woman," and perhaps with Low Ger. drabbe "dirt."

drachma --- 1579, from Gk. drakhme, an Attic coin and weight, probably originally "a handful" (see dram).

draconian --- 1876 (earlier Draconic, 1680), from Draco, Gk. statesman who laid down a code of laws for Athens 621 B.C.E. that mandated death as punishment for minor crimes. His name seems to mean lit. "sharp-sighted" (see dragon).

Dracula --- king of the vampires in Bram Stoker's novel (1897). It was a nickname of Prince Vlad of Walachia (d.1476).

draft --- c.1500, spelling variant of draught (q.v.) to reflect change in pronunciation. Meaning "rough copy of a writing" (something "drawn") is attested from 14c.; that of "preliminary sketch from which a final copy is made" is from 1528. The meaning "to draw off a group for special duty" is from 1703, in U.S. especially of military service; the v. in this sense first recorded 1714. Draftee is from 1866. Sense in bank draft is from 1745.

drag --- 1440, from O.N. draga, or a dial. variant of O.E. dragan "to draw," from P.Gmc. *dragan "to draw, pull," from PIE base *dhragh- "to draw, drag on the ground" (cf. Skt. dhrajati "pulls, slides in," Rus. drogi "wagon," and related to L. trahere; see tract (1)). Meaning "to take a puff" (of a cigarette, etc.) is from 1914. Sense of "annoying, boring person or thing" is 1813; sense of "women's clothing worn by a man" is said to be 1870 theater slang, from the sensation of long skirts trailing on the floor (another guess is Yiddish trogn "to wear," from Ger. tragen); drag queen is from 1941. Drag-out "violent fight" is from c.1859. Drag racing (1954) is from slang sense of "wagon, buggy" (1755), because a horse would drag it. By 1851 this was transferred to "street," as in the phrase main drag, and it was adopted by hot rodders for "race on city streets." Dragster is also from 1954. Dragnet is recorded from 1541, originally in fishing. To drag (one's) feet (1946, in fig. sense) is supposedly from logging, from the way to goof off while working a two-man saw.

draggle --- 1513, frequentative of drag. This led to draggle-tail "sloppy woman, woman whose skirts are wet and draggled" (1596).

dragoman --- 14c., from O.Fr. drugemen, from late Gk. dragoumanos, from Ar. targuman "interpreter," from targama "interpret." Treated in Eng. as a compound, with pl. -men.

dragon --- c.1220, from O.Fr. dragon, from L. draconem (nom. draco) "serpent, dragon," from Gk. drakon (gen. drakontos) "serpent, seafish," from drak-, strong aorist stem of derkesthai "to see clearly." But perhaps the lit. sense is "the one with the (deadly) glance." The young are dragonets (14c.). Obsolete drake "dragon" is an older borrowing of the same word. Used in the Bible to translate Heb. tannin "a great sea-monster," and tan, a desert mammal now believed to be the jackal. Dragonfly is from 1626.

dragoon --- 1622, from Fr. dragon "carbine, musket," because the guns the soldiers carried "breathed fire" like a dragon. The verb is from 1689, lit. "to force by the agency of dragoons" (which were used by the Fr. kings to persecute Protestants).

drain (v.) --- O.E. dreahnian, from P.Gmc. *draug-, source of "drought, dry," giving the Eng. word originally a sense of "make dry." Figurative meaning of "exhaust" is attested from 1660. The noun is from 1552.

drake (1) --- male duck, c.1300, unrecorded in O.E. but may have existed there, from W.Gmc. *drako.

drake (2) --- archaic for "dragon," from O.E. draca, from P.Gmc. *drako (see dragon).

dram --- c.1373, from Anglo-L. dragma, from L.L. dragma, from L. drachma "drachma," from Gk. drakhma "measure of weight," also, "silver coin," lit. "handful" (of six obols, the least valuable coins in ancient Greece), akin to drassesthai "to grasp." The fluid dram is one-eighth of a fluid ounce, hence "a small drink of liquor" (1713).

drama --- 1515, from L.L. drama "play, drama," from Gk. drama (gen. dramatos) "play, action, deed," from dran "to do, act, perform." Dramatic "appropriate to drama" is from 1725. Dramatis personæ 1730, from L., lit. "persons of a drama."

dramaturgy --- composition and production of plays, 1801, from Fr. dramaturge (1688), introduced by poet Jean Chapelain (1595-1674), from Gk. dramatourgia, from drama (gen. dramatos) + ergos worker."

Drambuie --- 1893, proprietary name of a whiskey liqueur manufactured in Scotland.

drang nach Osten --- 1906, former Ger. imperial policy of eastern expansion; lit. "pressure to the east."

drape --- 1362 (implied in draper), from O.Fr. draper, from drap "cloth," from L.L. drapus, of Gaulish origin (cf. O.Ir. drapih "mantle, garment"). Jive talk slang for "suit of clothes" is attested from 1945. The v. originally meant "to weave cloth;" modern sense of "to cover with drapery" is first attested 1847. Drapery in the sense of "stuff with which anything is draped" is from 1686.

drastic --- 1691, originally medical, "forceful, vigorous, especially in effect on bowels," from Gk. drastikos "effective," from drasteon "(thing) to be done," from dran "to do, act, perform." Sense of "extreme, severe" is first recorded 1808.

drat --- 1815, disguised form of exclamation God rot (something or someone).

draught --- c.1205, from O.E. *dreaht, *dræht, related to dragan "to draw, drag" (see drag). Oldest sense besides that of "pulling" is of "drinking;" meaning "current of air" ("drawn" through an opening) is 18c. It retains the functions that did not branch off with draft. Draughts, British for what in U.S. is "checkers" is c.1400.

Dravidian --- 1856, "pertaining to the race in southern India or the languages spoken by them," from Skt. Dravidah, name of a region in southern India.

draw --- O.E. dragan "to drag, to draw" (class VI strong verb; past tense drog, pp. dragen), from P.Gmc. *draganan "carry," from PIE base *dhragh- (see drag). Sense of "make a line or figure" (by "drawing" a pencil across paper) is c.1200. Meaning "pull out a weapon" is c.1200. Colloquial n. sense of "anything that can draw a crowd" is from 1881 (the verb in this sense is 1586). To draw a criminal (drag him from a horse to place of execution) is from c.1330. To draw a blank "come up with nothing" (1825) is an allusion to a lottery. Drawback "hindrance, disadvantage" is from 1720; drawbridge is 14c. A drawer (1580) is a box that can be "drawn" out of a cabinet; drawers (1567) are garments that are pulled on. Drawing room (1642) is short for withdrawing room, into which ladies would go after dinner.

drawl (v.) --- 1597, probably from M.Du. dralen, E.Fris. draulen "to linger, delay," apparently an intensive of the root of draw.

drawn --- c.1200, pp. of draw; in the sense of "undecided" (of a battle or match), 1610, perhaps from withdrawn; in the sense of "disemboweled" it is attested from 1789.

dray --- 1369, M.E. derivative of O.E. dragan "to draw," originally meaning a cart without wheels that has to be "dragged" (cf. O.N. draga "timber dragged behind a horse"); see drag. Drayage, originally "conveyance by dray" (later also in ref. to the fee for such) is attested from 1791.

dread --- c.1175, from O.E. ondrædan "counsel or advise against," also "fear," from on- "against," second element of uncertain origin; prefix wore off after 12c. Dreadlocks first recorded 1960, so called from the dread they presumably aroused in beholders, but Rastafarian dread (1974) also has a sense of "fear of the Lord," expressed in part as alienation from contemporary society.

Dreadnought --- battleship, lit. "fearing nothing," the name of a ship in the Royal Navy c.1596, but modern sense is from the name of the first of a new class of British battleships mainly armed with big guns of one caliber, launched Feb. 18, 1906.

dream --- c.1250 in the sense "sequence of sensations passing through a sleeping person's mind," probably related to O.N. draumr, Dan. drøm, Swed. drom, O.S. drom, Du. droom, O.H.G. troum, Ger. traum "dream," perhaps from W.Gmc. *draugmas "deception, illusion, phantasm" (cf. O.S. bidriogan, O.H.G. triogan, Ger. trügen "to deceive, delude," O.N. draugr "ghost, apparition"). Possible cognates outside Gmc. are Skt. druh- "seek to harm, injure," Avestan druz- "lie, deceive." But O.E. dream meant only "joy, mirth," also "music." Words for "sleeping vision" in O.E. were mæting and swefn (from PIE *swep-no-, cf. Gk. hypnos). Much study has failed to prove that O.E. dream "noisy merriment" is the root of the modern word for "sleeping vision," despite being identical in spelling. Either the meaning of the word changed dramatically or "vision" was an unrecorded secondary O.E. meaning of dream, or there are two separate words here. "It seems as if the presence of dream 'joy, mirth, music,' had caused dream 'dream' to be avoided, at least in literature, and swefn, lit. 'sleep,' to be substituted" [OED]. Dream in the sense of "ideal or aspiration" is from 1931, from earlier sense of "something of dream-like beauty or charm" (1888). Dreamy is 1567 in the sense "full of dreams;" 1941 as "perfect, ideal." Dreamboat "romantically desirable person" is from 1947. Dreamland is c.1834; dreamscape is 1959, in a Sylvia Plath poem.

dreary --- O.E. dreorig "sorrowful," originally "cruel, bloody," from dreor "gore, blood," from (ge)dreosan (pp. droren) "fall, decline, fail," from W.Gmc. *dreuzas (cf. O.N. dreyrigr "gory, bloody," and more remotely, Ger. traurig "sad, sorrowful"). The word has lost its original sense of "dripping blood." Sense of "dismal, gloomy" first recorded 1667 in "Paradise Lost," but O.E. had a related verb drysmian "become gloomy."

dreck --- filth, trash, 1922, from Yiddish drek (Ger. dreck), from M.H.G. drec, from P.Gmc. þrekka (cf. O.E. þreax "rubbish," O.Fris. threkk), probably connected to Gk. skatos "dung," L. stercus "excrement."

dredge (n.) --- 1471, from Scottish dreg-boat "boat for dredging," or M.Du. dregghe "drag-net," one possibly from the other but hard to tell which came first; probably ult. from root of drag. The verb is attested from 1508.

dregs --- c.1300, from O.N. dregg "sediment," from P.Gmc. *drag-. Replaced O.E. dræst, dærst.

drench --- from O.E. drencan "cause to drink," caus. of drincan "to drink," from P.Gmc. *drankijan. In M.E., it meant "to drown;" sense of "to wet thoroughly by throwing liquid over" is from c.1550.

dress (n.) --- 1606, originally any clothing, especially that appropriate to rank or to some ceremony; sense of "woman's garment" is first recorded 1638, with overtones of "made not merely to clothe but to adorn." Dressing "bandage" is first recorded 1713. Dress rehearsal first recorded 1828.

dress (v.) --- c.1330, "make straight," from O.Fr. dresser "put right, put straight," from V.L. *directiare, from L. directus "direct, straight." Sense of "decorate, adorn" is c.1380; that of "put on clothing" c. 1395. Original sense survives in military meaning "align columns of troops." Dress up "attire elaborately" is from 1674; dressing down "wearing clothes less formal than expected" is from 1960. To dress (someone) down (1769) is ironical. To dress meat or other food (for cooking) is 14c. Dressing-gown first recorded 1777. "One of those fine old dressy things, who thinks to conceal her age, by everywhere exposing her person" [Goldsmith, 1768].

dressage --- 1936, from Fr., from dresser "to train, drill." M.E. had dress (v.) in the sense of "to train or break in" a horse or other animal (c.1400), but it died out.

dresser --- table, sideboard, c.1393, from O.Fr. dresseur "table to prepare food," from dresser "prepare, dress" (see dress (v.)). Meaning of "chest, dressing bureau" appeared 1895.

dribble --- c.1589, frequentative of obsolete drib (1523), var. of drip. Sports sense first used of soccer (1863), basketball is early 20c.

drift --- c.1300, lit. "a being driven" (of snow, etc.); not recorded in O.E., borrowed from O.N. or M.Du. drift, from P.Gmc. *driftiz, related to *dribanan "to drive." The verb is first attested c.1600. Sense of "what one is getting at" is from 1526. Drifter is first recorded 1864, as a mining term; meaning "a man following an aimless way of life" is from 1908. Driftwood first recorded 1633.

drill (1) --- 1611 (n.), 1649 (v.), from Du. dril, drille "a hole, instrument for boring holes," from drillen "to bore (a hole), turn around, whirl," from P.Gmc. *threljanan. Sense of "to instruct in military exercise" is 1622 (also in Du. drillen and in the Dan. and Ger. cognates), probably from the notion of troops "turning" in maneuvers. Ext. sense of "the agreed-upon procedure" is from 1940.

drill (2) --- small furrow, 1727; also "machine for sowing seeds" (1731), from obsolete drill "rill, trickling stream" (1641), of unknown origin, perhaps connected to drill (1).

drill (3) --- W. African baboon species, 1644, perhaps from a native word.

drink (v.) --- O.E. drincan "to drink," also "to swallow up, engulf" (class III strong verb; past tense dranc, pp. druncen), from P.Gmc. *drengkan, of uncertain origin. "Semantically the deriv. fr. 'draw' (cf. N.E. take a draught, Lat. ducere pocula, sucos, etc.) is the most attractive, and so ultimate connection with O.E. dragan 'draw,' etc., through a nasalized form of a parallel root ...." Not found outside Gmc. Most I.E. words for this trace to PIE *po(i)- (cf. Gk. pino, L. biber, Ir. ibim, O.C.S. piti, Rus. pit'; see imbibe). The noun meaning "beverage, alcoholic beverage" was also in O.E. To drink like a fish is first recorded 1747.

drip --- c.1300, from M.Dan. drippe, from P.Gmc. *drup-, from PIE base *dhreub-. O.E. had related drypan "to let drop," dropian "fall in drops," and dreopan "to drop." The slang meaning "stupid, feeble, or dull person" is first recorded 1932.

drive (v.) --- O.E. drifan (class I strong verb; past tense draf, pp. drifen), from P.Gmc. *dribanan (cf. O.N. drifa, Goth. dreiban), not found outside Gmc. Original sense of "pushing from behind," altered in Mod.Eng. by application to automobiles. Golfing sense of "forcible blow" is from 1836. Meaning "organized effort to raise money" is 1889, Amer.Eng. The noun, in the computing sense, first attested 1963. Drive-in (adj.) first recorded 1930, of restaurants, banks, movies, etc. Drive-through first attested 1949, in an advertisement for the Beer Vault Drive-Thru in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Driveway is from 1875. "The more you drive, the less intelligent you are." ["Repo Man"]

drivel --- O.E. dreflian "to dribble or run at the nose," from P.Gmc. *drablojanan.

drizzle --- 1543, alteration of drysning "a falling of dew" (14c.), from O.E. -drysnian, related to dreosan "to fall."

droit du seigneur --- 1784, alleged medieval custom whereby the feudal lord had the right to have sex with the bride of his vassal on their wedding night before she went to her husband, from Fr., lit. "the lord's right." There is little evidence that it actually existed; it seems to have been invented in imagination 16c. or 17c. The L. form was jus primæ noctis, "law of the first night."

droll --- 1623, from Fr. drole "odd, comical, funny" (1584), in M.Fr. a noun meaning "a merry fellow," possibly from M.Du. drol "fat little fellow, goblin," or M.H.G. trolle "clown," ult. from O.N. troll "giant, troll" (see troll (n.))

dromedary --- c.1280, from O.Fr. dromadaire, from L.L. dromedarius "kind of camel," from L. dromas (gen. dromados), from Gk. dromas kamelos "running camel," from dromos "a race course," from PIE *drem-, from possible base *der- "to run, walk, step" (cf. Skt. dramati "runs, goes," Gk. dromas "running," M.H.G. tremen "to rock, shake, sway"). One-humped Arabian camels were bred and trained for riding. A charming early variant was drumbledairy (1570).

drone (n.) --- O.E. dran, dræn "male honeybee," from P.Gmc. *dran-, probably imitative; given a figurative sense of "idler, lazy worker" (male bees make no honey) c.1529; the verb in the sound sense is c.1500, apparently imitative. Meaning "pilotless aircraft" is from 1946.

droog --- gang member, young ruffian, a transliteration of the Rus. word for "friend," introduced by Eng. novelist Anthony Burgess in "A Clockwork Orange" (1962). The Rus. word comes from O.C.S. drugu "companion, friend, other" (cf. Boh. drug "companion," Serbo-Cr. drugi "other"), which belongs to a group of related IE words (cf. Lith. draugas "friend, traveling companion;" Goth. driugan "do military service," ga-drauhts "soldier;" O.N. drott, O.E. dryht, O.H.G. truht "multitude, people, army") whose original sense seems to be "companion."

drool --- 1802, apparently dial. variant or contraction of drivel.

droop --- c.1300, from O.N. drupa "to drop," from P.Gmc. *drup-, from PIE *dhreub, related to O.E. dropian "to drop." Droopy "dejected, sad, gloomy" is attested from c.1225, from O.N. drupr "drooping spirits, faintness."