Where does “droll” come from?
Droll comes from French drôle, from Middle French drolle, from Old Dutch drol, from Old Norse troll, from Proto-Germanic truzlą, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European derǝ-.
droll (English): Oddly humorous; whimsical, amusing in a quaint...
Definitions
- Oddly humorous; whimsical, amusing in a quaint...
Ancestry of “droll”, step by step
droll traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via French drôle
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | French | drôle | funny, amusing; strange, weird, bizarre |
| 2 | Middle French | drolle | funny; amusing; joker |
| 3 | Old French | drolle | one who lives luxuriously; joker |
| 4 | Middle Dutch | drol | fat little man, goblin |
| 5 | Old Norse | trǫll | witch, mage, conjurer |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | truzlą | a supernatural being; demon; fiend; giant;... |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | dreh₂- | run; to run, escape |
via German Droll
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | German | Droll | — |