Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “hunt down” come from?

hunt down (English) comes from English down, from Middle English doune, from Old English dūne, from Old English adūne, from Old English ofdūne, from Old English dūn, from Proto-Germanic *dūnā, from Proto-Celtic dūnom — smoke; mist, haze.

hunt down (English): To hunt something and capture or kill it; To...

Definitions

  1. To hunt something and capture or kill it; To...

Ancestry of “hunt down”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishdownFrom a higher position to a lower one; downwards;...
2Middle Englishdoune—
3Old Englishdūnehill; down, downward
4Old Englishadūne—
5Old Englishofdūneoff the hill; down
6Old Englishdūnhill, down; hill, dune; hill, mountain
7Proto-Germanic*dūnā—
8Proto-Celticdūnomstronghold, rampart
9Proto-Indo-Europeandʰewh₂-smoke; mist, haze
Every word from Proto-Indo-European dʰewh₂- →