Where does “drill” come from?

Drill comes from Middle Dutch drillen, from Old Dutch thrillen, from Proto-Germanic þriljaną, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European ter-.

drill (English): To create by removing material with a drill; To...

Definitions

  1. To create by removing material with a drill; To...

Ancestry of “drill”, step by step

drill traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.

via Middle Dutch drillen

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Dutchdrillenbore, move in a circle
2Old Dutchthrillen—
3Proto-Germanicþriljaną—
4Proto-Indo-Europeanter-tender, weak; young creature
5Italiantermineend, close; limit, term, date, time; term, word
6Latinterminusa boundary, limit, end
7Proto-Italictermenos—
8Proto-Indo-Europeantérmn̥boundary, end

via German Drillich

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1GermanDrillichdrill
2Middle High Germandrilich—
3Old High Germandrilīh—
4Latintrilixhaving triple thread, three-ply
5Latintri-three, tri-
6Latintrēsthree; 3
7Proto-Italictrēsthree
8Proto-Indo-European*tréyes—

via Middle English drillen

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishdrillen—

Words derived from “drill”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European térmn̥ →