English
dick
Dick comes from the name Dick, a pet form of Richard; the name came to mean ‘everyman’, giving the word its other senses.
- English1500–presentRichard
- English1500–presentDick
- Englishearliest quotation 1989dick
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- English1500–presentRichard
- English1500–presentDick
- Englishearliest quotation 1989dick
Earliest quotation: 1989, Car Thief: “Homeboy, throw in the towel / Your girl got…”
The story
The name Dick came to mean everyman, whence the word acquired its other meanings.
Every English word from English Richard
Another origin of dick
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*déḱm̥‘ten’reconstructed
- Proto-Celticc. 1300–800 BCE*dekam‘ten’reconstructed
- Proto-Brythonicc. 100 BCE–500 CE*deg‘ten’reconstructed
- Cumbricmodern*deg‘ten’reconstructed
- Englishtodaydick
Today it means
noun A male person.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / English Richard / dick