English
doe
Doe comes from Middle English do ‘(female) fallow deer’, and goes back to Proto-West Germanic *daihā.
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*daihā‘female deer, mother deer’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150dā‘doe, female fallow deer’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500do‘(female) fallow deer’
- Englishearliest quotation 1923doe
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*daihā‘female deer, mother deer’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150dā‘doe, female fallow deer’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500do‘(female) fallow deer’
- Englishearliest quotation 1923doe
Earliest quotation: 1923, Robert Frost, [Grace Notes.] Two Look at Two.: “A doe from round a spruce stood looking at…”
The story
Related also to female, filial, fetus.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁(y)- ‘to suck (milk), to suckle’
female, feminist, feminism, fetus, tyre, felicity, dai, femme, femininity, fawn, effeminate, filial, fellatio, fecundity, dahi, 29 more
through Middle English do ‘(female) fallow deer’
Today it means
noun A female deer; also used of similar animals such as antelope (less commonly a goat, as nanny is also used).
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-West Germanic *daihā / doe