Where does “dummy run” come from?
dummy run (English) comes from English dummy, from English dumb, from English damn, from Middle English dampnen, from Old French dampner, from Latin damnō, from Latin damnum, from Proto-Italic dapnom — to share, divide.
dummy run (English): A trial or practice before the real attempt
Definitions
- A trial or practice before the real attempt
Ancestry of “dummy run”, step by step
dummy run traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English dummy
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | dummy | A silent person; a person who does not talk; An... |
| 2 | English | dumb | Unable to speak; lacking power of speech; Silent;... |
| 3 | English | damn | To condemn to hell; To condemn; to declare... |
| 4 | Middle English | dampnen | to damn |
| 5 | Old French | dampner | to damn |
| 6 | Latin | damnō | to discredit, find fault, disapprove, reject |
| 7 | Latin | damnum | damage or injury; loss; a fine |
| 8 | Proto-Italic | dapnom | — |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | dh₂pnóm | expense, investment |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | deh₂p- | to sacrifice; to lose |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | deh₂- | to share, divide |
via English run
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | run | To move swiftly; To flow; To sail before the... |
| 2 | English | -er | A person or thing that does an action indicated... |
| 3 | Middle English | -er | agentive suffix; agent noun suffix |
| 4 | Old French | -er | Alternative form of -ier, verbal suffix;... |
| 5 | Latin | -āre | first conjugation |
| 6 | Proto-Italic | -āō | Forms primarily denominative verbs |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | -eh₂yéti | Creates iterative/ frequentative/ intensive... |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | -yéti | Creates intransitive, often deponent,... |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | yé- | — |
| 10 | Chichewa | iye | he, she |