Where does “dirt” come from?
Dirt comes from Middle English drit, from Old Norse drit, from Proto-Germanic dritą, from Proto-Indo-European dʰreyd-.
dirt (English): Soil or earth; A stain or spot ; any foreign...
Definitions
- Soil or earth; A stain or spot ; any foreign...
Ancestry of “dirt”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle English | drit | excrement |
| 2 | Old Norse | drit | excrement |
| 3 | Proto-Germanic | dritą | shit, excrement |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | drītaną | to defecate; to urinate |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | dʰreyd- | to have diarrhea |
Words derived from “dirt”