Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “Douglas” come from?

Douglas derives from Scottish Gaelic glais through Old Irish dub and Proto-Celtic dubus, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European roots related to darkness or obscurity.

Ancestry of “Douglas”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Scottish Gaelicglaislock; vocative/genitive singular of glas
2Old Irishglasgreen, greenish; blue, green-blue, grey-blue; the...
3Proto-Celticglastosgreen, blue
4Proto-Indo-Europeanǵʰl̥h₃stós—
5Proto-Indo-Europeanǵʰelh₃-to flourish; green, yellow

Words derived from “Douglas”

  • Douglas
Every word from Proto-Indo-European ǵʰelh₃- →