Etymograph

English

dash

Dash comes from Middle English daschen ‘to hit with a weapon and cause damage’, from Danish daske ‘to slap, strike’, and ultimately from Old Norse daska.

  1. Old Norsec. 800–1350daska
  2. Danishmoderndaske‘to slap, strike’
  3. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500daschen‘to hit with a weapon and cause damage’
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1627dash

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

Lineage

  1. Old Norsec. 800–1350daska
  2. Danishmoderndaske‘to slap, strike’
  3. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500daschen‘to hit with a weapon and cause damage’
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1627dash

Earliest quotation: 1627, (please specify the page, or |century=I to X): “If you dash a stone against a stone in…”

The story

From Middle English daschen, dassen, from Danish daske (‘to slap, strike’), related to Swedish daska (‘to smack, slap, spank’), of obscure origin.uncertain The source flags this step as uncertain.

Every English word from Old Norse daska

Today it means

noun Any of the following symbols: ‒ (figure dash), – (en dash), — (em dash), or ― (horizontal bar).

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Old Norse daska / dash

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