Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “dan” come from?

Dan comes from Japanese 段, borrowed from Chinese 段, which derives from Latin domina, ultimately tracing to Proto-Indo-European dṓm meaning house or building.

dan (English): 1578, George Gascoigne, "A Moonshine Banquet" in...

Definitions

  1. 1578, George Gascoigne, "A Moonshine Banquet" in...

Ancestry of “dan”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishdamlord; mother; woman of rank, lady; mistress of a...
2Old Englishdamm—
3Proto-West Germanic*damm—
4Proto-Germanicdammazdam
Every word from Proto-Germanic dammaz →