Etymograph

English

derailment

Derailment comes from French dérailler ‘to derail’, and goes back to English rail.

  1. English1500–presentrail
  2. Frenchc. 1600–presentsame form
  3. French, derivedc. 1600–presentdérailler‘to derail’
  4. French, derivedc. 1600–presentdéraillement
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1920derailment

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. English1500–presentrail
  2. Frenchc. 1600–presentsame form
  3. French, derivedc. 1600–presentdérailler‘to derail’
  4. French, derivedc. 1600–presentdéraillement
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1920derailment

Earliest quotation: 1920, Edward Carpenter, Pagan and Christian Creeds: “But when the second stage set in, in which…”

Linked words

through French rail

monorail, 1 more

through French dérailler ‘to derail’

derailleur, 1 more

Today it means

noun The action of a locomotive or train leaving the rails along which it runs.

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

Etymograph / English rail / derailment

Shirt and support for this word