Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “dole” come from?

Dole comes from Middle English dol, from Old French doel, from Proto-Germanic dailą, from Latin doleo meaning "to grieve," ultimately from Proto-Indo-European delh₁-.

dole (English): To distribute in small amounts; to share out...

Definitions

  1. To distribute in small amounts; to share out...

Ancestry of “dole”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishdole—
2Old Frenchdoelpain; suffering; anguish
3Latindolustrickery, deception, deceit, guile; evil intent;...
4Latindolorpain, ache, hurt; anguish, grief, sorrow;...
5Latin-orused to form a third-declension masculine...
6Proto-Italic-ōsCreates masculine action nouns or result nouns...
7Proto-Indo-European-ōsCreates masculine and feminine action nouns or...
8Proto-Indo-European-oss—
9Proto-Indo-European-osCreates action nouns or result nouns from verbs;...

Words derived from “dole”

  • dolesome
  • doleite
  • dole bludger
  • dolesomely
  • dolesomeness
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -os →