Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “district” come from?

District comes from French district, from Medieval Latin districtus, from Latin distringere meaning to stretch apart, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European strenk- and dwóh₁.

district (English): An administrative division of an area; An area or...

Definitions

  1. An administrative division of an area; An area or...

Ancestry of “district”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Frenchdistrictdistrict
2Medieval Latindistrictusa district within which the lord may distrain,...
3Latindistrictusbusy, stretched; distracted
4Latinstrictustightened, compressed, having been tightened;...
5Latinstringeresecond-person singular future passive indicative...
6LatinstringoI press, tighten, compress; I unsheath
7Proto-Italicstringō—
8Proto-Indo-Europeanstreyg-to strike; to shear
9Proto-Indo-European(s)ter-strong, firm, stiff, rigid; rigid, stiff; to...

Words derived from “district”

  • subdistrict
  • districtwide
  • interdistrict
  • multidistrict
  • redistrict
  • intradistrict
  • ecodistrict
  • districthood
  • districtlike
  • minidistrict
  • destrict
Every word from Proto-Indo-European (s)ter- →