Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “penny dreadful” come from?

penny dreadful (English) comes from English dreadful, from Middle English dredful, from Middle English dred, from Middle English dreden, from Old English drǣdan, from Old English ondrǣdan, from Proto-West Germanic andarādan, from Proto-West Germanic anda- — on, onto.

penny dreadful (English): A cheap paperback book, "particularly" those...

Definitions

  1. A cheap paperback book, "particularly" those...

Ancestry of “penny dreadful”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishdreadfulFull of something causing dread, "whether"; Full...
2Middle Englishdredful—
3Middle Englishdred—
4Middle Englishdreden—
5Old Englishdrǣdanto fear, dread
6Old Englishondrǣdanto fear, dread
7Proto-West Germanicandarādanto be afraid, fear; to be in awe
8Proto-West Germanicanda-against, opposing; in return, back; facing,...
9Proto-Germanicanda-against, opposing; un-, de-
10Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂éntiopposite; near; in front
11Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂éntsforehead; front
12Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂ent-face; forehead; front
13Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂en-on, onto

Words derived from “penny dreadful”

  • penny-dreadfulish
  • penny-dreadfulism
Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₂en- →