Etymograph

English

door

Door comes from Middle English dore ‘a door or gate’, and goes back to Proto-Germanic *durz.

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*durz‘door’reconstructed
  2. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*dur‘door’reconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150duru
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500dore‘a door or gate’
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1918door

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*durz‘door’reconstructed
  2. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*dur‘door’reconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150duru
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500dore‘a door or gate’
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1918door

Earliest quotation: 1918, William Babington Maxwell, Indianapolis: “Then everybody once more knelt, and soon the blessing…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *dʰwer- ‘doorway, door, gate’

foreign, thyroid, 6 more

Today it means

noun A portal of entry into a building, room, or vehicle, typically consisting of a rigid plane movable on a hinge. It may have a handle to help open and close, a latch to hold it closed, and a lock that ensures it cannot be opened without a key.

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

Etymograph / Proto-Germanic *durz / door

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