- dimension
- 1413, from L. dimensionem (nom. dimensio), from stem of dimetri "to measure out," from dis- + metri "to measure."
- diminish
- 1417, from merger of two obsolete verbs, diminue and minish. Diminue is from O.Fr. diminuer "make small," from L. diminuere "break into small pieces," variant of deminuere "lessen, diminish," from de- "completely" + minuere "make small." Minish is from O.Fr. menuisier, from L. minuere.
- diminutive
- 1398, from O.Fr. diminutif (fem. diminutive), from L. diminutivum, from deminuere (see diminish).
- dimple
- c.1400, probably existed in O.E. as a word meaning "pothole," perhaps ult. from P.Gmc. *dumpilaz, which has yielded words in other languages meaning "small pit, little pool."
- din
- O.E. dyne (n.), dynian (v.), from P.Gmc. *duniz, from PIE base *dhun- "loud noise" (cf. Skt. dhuni "roaring, a torrent").
- dine
- 1297, from O.Fr. disner, originally "take the first meal of the day," from stem of Gallo-Romance *desjunare "to break one's fast," from L. dis- "undo" + L.L. jejunare "to fast," from L. jejunus "fasting, hungry." Diner "railway car for eating" is 1890, Amer.Eng. Dinette is 1930, with false Fr. ending.
- ding
- 1819, "to sound as metal when struck," possibly abstracted from ding-dong (1659), of imitative origin. The verb meaning "to deal heavy blows" is c.1300, probably from O.N. dengja "to hammer." Meaning "dent" is 1960s. Dinger "something superlative" (e.g. humdinger) is from 1809, Amer.Eng. Ding-a-ling "one who is crazy" is 1935, from notion of hearing bells in the head.
- dingbat
- 1838, Amer.Eng., "some kind iof alcoholic drink," of unknown origin. One of that class of words (e.g. dingus, doohickey, gadget, gizmo, thingumabob) which are conjured up to supply names for items whose proper names are unknown or not recollected. Used at various periods for "money," "a professional tramp," "a muffin," "a typographical ornament," "male genitalia," "a Chinese," "an Italian," "a woman who is neither your sister nor your mother," and "a foolish person in authority." Popularized in sense of "foolish person" by TV show "All in the Family" (1971), though this usage dates from 1905.
- dinghy
- 1810, from Hindi dingi "small boat," perhaps from Skt. drona-m "wooden trough," related to dru-s "wood, tree."
- dingle
- "deep dell or hollow, usually wooded," c.1240, of unknown origin; a dialectal word until it entered literary use 17c.
- dingo
- 1789, Native Australian name, from Dharruk (language formerly spoken in the area of Sydney) /din-go/ "tame dog," though the English used it to describe wild Australian dogs. Bushmen continue to call the animal by the Dharruk term /warrigal/ "wild dog."
- dingus
- "any unspecified or unspecifiable object; something one does not know the name of or does not wish to name," 1876, U.S. slang, from Du. dinges, lit. "thing" (see thing).
- dingy
- 1736, Kentish dialect, "dirty," of uncertain origin, but probably related to dung.
- dinkum
- 1888, "hard work," Australian slang, of unknown origin, perhaps connected to Lincolnshire dialect. Meaning "honest, genuine" is attested from 1894.
- dinky
- 1788 "neat, trim, dainty, small," from Scot. dialect dink "finely dressed, trim" (1508), of unknown origin. Modern sense is 1850s.
- dinner
- 1297, from O.Fr. disner, originally "breakfast," later "lunch," noun use of infinitive disner (see dine). Always used in Eng. for the main meal of the day; shift from midday to evening began with the fashionable classes. Childish reduplication din-din is attested from 1905.
- dinosaur
- 1841, coined by Sir Richard Owen, from Gk. deinos "terrible" + sauros "lizard," of unknown origin. Fig. sense of "person or institution not adapting to change" is from 1952.
- dint
- O.E. dynt "blow dealt in fighting" (especially by a sword), from P.Gmc. *duntiz. Phrase by dint of ... "by force of, by means of," is c.1330.
- diocese
- c.1330, from O.Fr. diocese, from L.L. diocesis "a governor's jurisdiction," later, "a bishop's jurisdiction," from Gk. diokesis "province," originally "economy, housekeeping," from diokein "manage a house," from dia- "thoroughly" + oikos "house" (see villa).
- Dionysian
- c.1610, from Gk. Dionysos, god of wine and revelry, identified with Roman Bacchus.
- diorama
- 1823 as a type of picture-viewing device, from Fr. (1822), from Gk. di- "through" + orama "that which is seen, a sight." Invented by Daguerre and Bouton, first exhibited in London Sept. 29, 1823. Meaning "small-scale replica of a scene, etc." is from 1902.
- dioxin
- 1919, from dioxy- + chemical suffix -in. All the compounds in the group are characterized by two oxygen atoms.
- dip
- O.E. dyppan "immerse, baptize by immersion," from P.Gmc. *dupjanan, related to diepan "immerse, dip." Sense of "downward slope" is 1708. Meaning "sweet sauce for pudding, etc." first recorded 1825. Dipper, the popular U.S. name for the asterism known in Britain as The Plough or Charles' Wain, is attested from 1842.
- diphtheria
- coined 1857 in Fr. by physician Pierre Bretonneau from Gk. diphthera "hide, leather," of unknown origin; the disease so called for the tough membrane that forms in the throat. Formerly known in England as the Boulogne sore throat, since it spread from France.
- diphthong
- 1483, from M.Fr., from L.L., from Gk. diphthongos, from di- "double" + phthongos "sound, voice," related to phthengesthai "utter, speak loudly."
- diplodocus
- 1884, coined in Mod.L. by O.C. Marsh (1878) from Gk. diploos "double" + dokos "a beam."
- diploma
- c.1645, from L. diploma, from Gk. diploma "license, chart," originally "paper folded double," from diploun "to double, fold over," from diplos "double." Specific academic sense is 1682 in Eng.
- diplomacy
- 1796, from Fr. diplomatie, formed from diplomate "diplomat" (on model of aristocratie from aristocrate), from L. adj. diplomaticos, from diploma (gen. diplomatis) "official document conferring a privilege" (see diploma). The Eng. use of diplomat dates from 1813. Diplomatic in the general sense of "tactful and adroit" dates from 1826.
- dipsomania
- 1843, "morbid craving for alcohol," coined from Gk. dipsa "thirst" + mania (q.v.). The noun meaning "drunkard" is from 1858; slang shortening dipso is from 1880.
- diptych
- 1622, from L. diptycha (pl.), from late Gk. diptykha (neut. pl.), from dis- "two" + ptykhe "fold."
- dire
- 1567, from L. dirus "fearful, awful, boding ill," from Oscan and Umbrian, cognate with Gk. deinos, from PIE base *dwei-.
- direct
- c.1374, from L. directus "straight," pp. of dirigere "set straight," from dis- "apart" + regere "to guide" (see regal). The adj. is from c.1391. Director of films, plays, etc., is from 1911. Directory "alphabetical listing of inhabitants of a region" is from 1732.
- dirge
- c.1225, from L. dirige "direct!" imperative of dirigere "to direct," probably from antiphon Dirige, Domine, Deus meus, in conspectu tuo viam meam, "Direct, O Lord, my God, my way in thy sight," from Psalm v:9, which opened the Matins service in the Office of the Dead. Transferred sense of "any funeral song" is from 1500.
- dirigible
- "airship," 1885, from Fr. dirigeable, lit. "capable of being directed or guided," from L. dirigere (see direct). The word existed as an adj. in Eng. from 1581, with the lit. sense.
- dirk
- 1602, probably from Dirk, the proper name, which was used in Scand. for "a picklock." Earliest association is with Highlanders, but there seems to be no such word in Gaelic, where the proper name is biodag.
- dirndl
- 1937, from Ger. dial. dim. of dirne "girl" (cf. dirndlkleid "peasant dress").
- dirt
- 15c. metathesis of M.E. drit, drytt "mud, dirt, dung" (c.1300), from O.N. drit, cognate with O.E. dritan, from P.Gmc. *dritanan. Meaning "gossip" first attested 1926 (in Hemingway); dirt bike is 1960s. Dirty in the sense of "morally unclean" is attested from 1599. Dirty linen "personal or familial secrets" is first recorded 1860s. Dirt-cheap is from 1821.
- dis-
- prefix meaning 1. "lack of, not" (e.g. dishonest); 2. "do the opposite of" (e.g. disallow); 3. "apart, away" (e.g. discard), from O.Fr. des-, from L. dis- "apart," from PIE *dis- "apart, asunder" (cf. O.E. te-, O.S. ti-, O.H.G. ze-, Ger. zer-). The PIE root is a secondary form of *dwis- and is thus related to L. bis "twice" (originally *dvis) and to duo, on notion of "two-ways, in twain." Dis has even stepped out on its own as a word (1980), as a shortening of disrespect or dismiss, originally in U.S. Black English, popularized by hip hop slang.
- disable
- 1444, from dis- "do the opposite of" (see dis-) + pp. of ablen (v.) "to make fit."
- disaffected
- "estranged, hostile," usually in reference to authority, 1632, from dis- "not" (see dis-) + affected.
- disagree
- 1494, from M.Fr. désagréer (12c.), from dés- "dis-" + agréer (see agree) The first record of disagreeable "unpleasant" is from 1473.
- disappear
- 1530, from dis- "do the opposite of" (see dis-) + appear. Slang disappearing act, originally of magic shows, in fig. sense of "getting away" first attested 1913.
- disappoint
- 1434, from M.Fr. desappointer "undo the appointment, remove from office," from des- "dis" + appointer "appoint." Modern sense of "to frustrate expectations" (1494) is from secondary meaning of "fail to keep an appointment."
- disapprove
- 1481, originally "disprove;" as the reverse of approve, it is first attested 1647.
- disarm
- c.1374, from O.Fr. desarmer (11c.), from des- "dis-" + armer (see arm (2)). The fig. sense is earlier in Eng. than the literal.
- disarray
- c.1386, from dis- "lack of" (see dis-) + array.
- disaster
- 1580, from M.Fr. desastre (1564), from It. disastro "ill-starred," from dis- "away, without" + astro "star, planet," from L. astrum, from Gk. astron. The sense is astrological, of a calamity blamed on an unfavorable position of a planet.
- disavow
- 1393, from dis- "opposite of" (see dis-) + avow.
- disband
- 1591, from M.Fr. desbander, in military sense, from des- "dis-" + band (q.v.).
- disbar
- "deprive of the privileges of a barrister, 1632, from dis- "opposite of" (see dis-) + bar in the legal sense.