Where does “drugs” come from?
drugs (Dutch) comes from English drugs, from English drug, from Middle English drogge, from Middle French drogue, from Old French drogue, from Old French drocgue, from Middle Dutch drôge, from Old Dutch drōgi — to support; to hold.
drugs (Dutch): Recreational drugs
Ancestry of “drugs”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | drugs | plural of drug; Third-person singular simple... |
| 2 | English | drug | A substance used to treat an illness, relieve a... |
| 3 | Middle English | drogge | medicine |
| 4 | Middle French | drogue | drug |
| 5 | Old French | drogue | — |
| 6 | Old French | drocgue | — |
| 7 | Middle Dutch | drôge | — |
| 8 | Old Dutch | drōgi | dry |
| 9 | Proto-West Germanic | *draugī | — |
| 10 | Proto-Germanic | draugiz | hard, solid; dry |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | dʰerǵʰ- | to strengthen; to strengthen; become hard; to... |
| 12 | Proto-Indo-European | dʰer- | to support; to hold |
Words derived from “drugs”