Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “dreadlock” come from?

dreadlock (English) comes from English dreadlocks, from Jamaican Creole dreadlocks, from Jamaican Creole dread, from English dread, from Middle English dreden, from Old English drǣdan, from Old English ondrǣdan, from Proto-West Germanic andarādan — on, onto.

dreadlock (English): A single strand of dreadlocks; To put into...

Definitions

  1. A single strand of dreadlocks; To put into...

Ancestry of “dreadlock”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishdreadlocksA hairstyle worn by Rastafarians and others in...
2Jamaican Creoledreadlocks—
3Jamaican Creoledread—
4EnglishdreadTo fear greatly; To anticipate with fear; To be...
5Middle Englishdreden—
6Old Englishdrǣdanto fear, dread
7Old Englishondrǣdanto fear, dread
8Proto-West Germanicandarādanto be afraid, fear; to be in awe
9Proto-West Germanicanda-against, opposing; in return, back; facing,...
10Proto-Germanicanda-against, opposing; un-, de-
11Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂éntiopposite; near; in front
12Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂éntsforehead; front
13Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂ent-face; forehead; front
14Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂en-on, onto

Words derived from “dreadlock”

  • dreadlocked
  • dred
Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₂en- →