Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “dauphin” come from?

Dauphin comes from French dauphin, from Old French dalphin, from Latin delphinus, from Ancient Greek δελφίς, ultimately from Ancient Greek δελφύς meaning dolphin.

dauphin (English): The eldest son of the king of France. Under the...

Definitions

  1. The eldest son of the king of France. Under the...

Ancestry of “dauphin”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle EnglishDauphin—
2Middle Frenchdauphin—
3Old Frenchdalphin—
4Latindelphīnus—
5Ancient Greekδελφίν—
6Ancient Greekδελφύςthe womb
7Proto-Indo-Europeangʷelbʰ-the womb

Words derived from “dauphin”

  • dauphiness
Every word from Proto-Indo-European gʷelbʰ- →