Where does “drug-dealer” come from?
drug-dealer (English) comes from English drug, from Middle English drogge, from Middle French drogue, from Old French drogue, from Old French drocgue, from Middle Dutch drôge, from Old Dutch drōgi, from Proto-West Germanic *draugī — to support; to hold.
Ancestry of “drug-dealer”, step by step
drug-dealer traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English drug
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | drug | A substance used to treat an illness, relieve a... |
| 2 | Middle English | drogge | medicine |
| 3 | Middle French | drogue | drug |
| 4 | Old French | drogue | — |
| 5 | Old French | drocgue | — |
| 6 | Middle Dutch | drôge | dry |
| 7 | Old Dutch | drōgi | dry |
| 8 | Proto-West Germanic | *draugī | dry |
| 9 | Proto-Germanic | draugiz | hard, solid; dry |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | dʰerǵʰ- | to strengthen; to strengthen; become hard; to... |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | dʰer- | to support; to hold |