Where does “de” come from?

de (English) comes from Chinese 德, from Mandarin 德意志, from German Deutsch, from Old High German diutsch, from Old High German diutisc, from Proto-West Germanic þiudisk, from Proto-Germanic þiudiskaz, from Proto-Germanic þeudō — to swell; to crowd; to be strong.

de (English): To do; Pronunciation spelling of the; A...

Definitions

  1. To do; Pronunciation spelling of the; A...

Ancestry of “de”, step by step

de traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.

via Chinese

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Chinese
2Mandarin德意志
3GermanDeutschGerman
4Old High Germandiutsch
5Old High GermandiutiscAlternative form of diutisk; popular, vernacular;...
6Proto-West Germanicþiudiskof the people, popular, vernacular
7Proto-Germanicþiudiskazof the people, popular; of the tribe
8Proto-Germanicþeudōpeople, tribe
9Proto-Indo-Europeantewtéh₂people, tribe
10Proto-Indo-Europeantewh₂-to swell; to crowd; to be strong

via French

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Frenchdie; diced slice; thimble
2Middle Frenchdeof; from
3Old Frenchdie
4Latinof; concerning; about
5Latinpostbehind; after, since, besides, except; behind,...
6Latinposteablative singular of postis
7Proto-Italicpostibehind, after
8Proto-Indo-Europeanpóstiafter
9Proto-Indo-Europeanpósafterwards, post; by, at

via Russian дэ

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1RussianдэThe Cyrillic letter Д, д

Words derived from “de

Every word from Proto-Indo-European tewh₂-Every word from Proto-Indo-European tewtéh₂Every word from Proto-Germanic þeudō