English
doom
Doom comes from Middle English doom ‘a judgement, (legal) decision or sentence’, from Proto-Indo-European *dʰóh₁mos ‘that which is put, placed’, and ultimately from *dʰeh₁- ‘to do’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰeh₁-‘to do’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰóh₁mos‘that which is put, placed’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*dōmaz‘judgement’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*dōm‘judgement’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150dōm‘judgement’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500doom‘a judgement, (legal) decision or sentence’
- Englishearliest quotation 1593same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰeh₁-‘to do’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰóh₁mos‘that which is put, placed’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*dōmaz‘judgement’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*dōm‘judgement’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150dōm‘judgement’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500doom‘a judgement, (legal) decision or sentence’
- Englishearliest quotation 1593same form
Earliest quotation: 1593, William Shakespeare: “This is the day of doom for Bassianus.”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁- ‘to do’
do, fact, deal, hot, fair, defense, fan, benefit, fashion, feature, mid, theme, defence, ethnic, sufficient, treasury, treasure, custom, ethical, thesis, aesthetic, defendant, feast, synthetic, theology, tick, deed, dis, atheist, ethic, auditorium, auditor, atheism, demi, deem, spade, thematic, ethos, forfeit, feral, 128 more
through Proto-Germanic *dōmaz ‘judgement’
Today it means
noun Destiny, especially terrible.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁- / doom