Where does “do” come from?
Do comes from English do, from Italian ditto, from Italian detto, from Proto-Indo-European dʰeh₁- meaning to place or put.
do (English): A syntactic marker
Definitions
- A syntactic marker
Ancestry of “do”, step by step
do traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.
via English ditto
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | ditto | That which was stated before, the aforesaid, the... |
| 2 | Italian | ditto | — |
| 3 | Italian | detto | past participle of dire; past participle of... |
| 4 | Latin | dictus | said, uttered; mentioned, spoken, having been... |
| 5 | Latin | dīcō | to say, talk, speak, utter, mention |
| 6 | Latin | -tiō | tion, -ation, -ing |
| 7 | Latin | dissertātiō | (spoken) dissertation, discourse, disquisition |
| 8 | Latin | dissertus | arranged, disposed; explained |
| 9 | Latin | disserere | second-person singular future passive indicative... |
| 10 | Latin | dis- | asunder, apart, in two; reversal, removal;... |
| 11 | Latin | calceus | shoe |
| 12 | Latin | calx | limestone; chalk; the finish line |
| 13 | Ancient Greek | χάλιξ | small stone, pebble; gravel, rubble |
via Middle English don
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | don | To do, perform; To complete, finish; To make,... |
| 2 | Old English | dōn | to do |
| 3 | Proto-West Germanic | dōn | to do; to put, to place |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | dōną | to do, make; to put, place |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | dʰéh₁t | to put, to place; to do |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | dʰeh₁- | to do, put, place |