English
dead
Dead comes from Middle English ded, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *dʰew-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰew-reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*daudazreconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*daudreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150dēad
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500ded
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1596dead
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰew-reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*daudazreconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*daudreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150dēad
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500ded
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1596dead
Earliest quotation: c. 1596, William Shakespeare, The Life and Death of King Iohn: “You breathe these dead news in as dead an…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *dʰew-
die, death, funeral, dusty, typhus, doze, dwindle, funerary, 3 more
Today it means
adj No longer living; deceased. (Also used as a noun.)
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *dʰew- / dead