Where does “dear” come from?

Dear derives from Middle English dere, Old English dēor, Proto-Germanic diurijaz, and Proto-Indo-European roots including dʰegʷʰ-, dʰewsóm, dʰerh₃-, and dʰwes-.

dear (English): High in price; expensive; Loved; lovable; Lovely;...

Definitions

  1. High in price; expensive; Loved; lovable; Lovely;...

Ancestry of “dear”, step by step

dear traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Old English dēor

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Englishdēoranimal, beast
2Proto-West Germanicdeuʀanimal, beast
3Proto-Germanicdeuząanimal, beast
4Proto-Indo-Europeandʰewsómliving thing
5Proto-Indo-Europeandʰéwsbreath
6Proto-Indo-Europeandʰwes-to breathe; breath; spirit, soul > creature

via Middle English dere

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishderefierce, severe, hard, deadly
2Old Englishdēoredear
3Proto-West Germanicdiurīvaluable, precious
4Proto-Germanicdiurijazdear, precious; expensive
5Proto-Indo-Europeandʰegʷʰ-to burn; warm, hot

Words derived from “dear”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European dʰwes- →Every word from Proto-Indo-European dʰéws →Every word from Proto-Indo-European dʰewsóm →