English
den
Den comes from Middle English den ‘a cave or cavern’, and goes back to Proto-West Germanic *dani ‘threshing-floor, barn-floor’.
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*dani‘threshing-floor, barn-floor’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150denn‘den, lair (of a beast), cave’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500den‘a cave or cavern’
- Englishearliest quotation 1806den
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*dani‘threshing-floor, barn-floor’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150denn‘den, lair (of a beast), cave’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500den‘a cave or cavern’
- Englishearliest quotation 1806den
Earliest quotation: 1806, Sir William Forbes, An Account of the Life and Writings of James Beattie: “I have made several visits of late to the…”
Linked words
through Proto-West Germanic *dani ‘threshing-floor, barn-floor’
through Middle English den ‘a cave or cavern’
Another origin of den
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*déḱm̥‘ten’uncertain
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*dekəm‘ten’uncertain
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdec(em)uncertain
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEdēnus‘ten each’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEdenarius
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400denier‘denier (coin)’
- Englishtodayden
Today it means
noun A small cavern or hollow place in the side of a hill, or among rocks; especially, a cave used by a wild animal for shelter or concealment.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-West Germanic *dani / den