Where does “dere” come from?

dere (Middle English) comes from Old English dēore, from Proto-West Germanic diurī, from Proto-Germanic diurijaz, from Proto-Indo-European dʰegʷʰ- — to burn; warm, hot.

dere (Middle English): fierce, severe, hard, deadly

Definitions

  1. fierce, severe, hard, deadly

Ancestry of “dere”, step by step

dere traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Old English dēore

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Englishdēoredear
2Proto-West Germanicdiurīvaluable, precious
3Proto-Germanicdiurijazdear, precious; expensive
4Proto-Indo-Europeandʰegʷʰ-to burn; warm, hot

via Middle English deren

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle EnglishderenTo damage or harm
2Old Englishderianto hurt, injure
3Proto-West Germanicdarjanto injure, harm, damage
4Proto-Indo-Europeandʰerh₃-to leap, spring

Words derived from “dere”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European dʰegʷʰ- →Every word from Proto-Germanic diurijaz →Every word from Proto-West Germanic diurī →