Etymograph

English

dough

Dough comes from Proto-Indo-European *dʰeyǵʰ- ‘to knead, form, mold’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰeyǵʰ-‘to knead, form, mold’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*daigazreconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*daigreconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150dāg
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500dow
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1906dough

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰeyǵʰ-‘to knead, form, mold’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*daigazreconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*daigreconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150dāg
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500dow
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1906dough

Earliest quotation: 1906, O. Henry, From the Cabby's Seat: “I want to see four dollars before goin' any…”

The story

The derivation of the second meaning (of money) is obscure, but dates to the mid 19th century.uncertain The source flags this step as uncertain.

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *dʰeyǵʰ- ‘to knead, form, mold’

figure, lady, fiction, paradise, dairy, faint, dey, fictitious, effigy, feign, figment, feint, 26 more

Today it means

noun A thick, malleable substance made by mixing flour with other ingredients such as water, eggs, or butter, that is made into a particular form and then baked.

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

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *dʰeyǵʰ- / dough

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