English
drain
Drain comes from Old English drēahnian ‘to drain’, and goes back to Proto-Germanic *draugiz ‘hard, solid’.
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*draugiz‘hard, solid’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanic, derivedc. 500 BCE–200 CE*drauhnōnąreconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*drauhnōnreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150drēahnian‘to drain’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500*dreinenreconstructed
- Englishearliest quotation 1627drain
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*draugiz‘hard, solid’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanic, derivedc. 500 BCE–200 CE*drauhnōnąreconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*drauhnōnreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150drēahnian‘to drain’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500*dreinenreconstructed
- Englishearliest quotation 1627drain
Earliest quotation: 1627, (please specify the page, or |century=I to X): “Fountains drain the water from the ground adjacent.”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *dʰer- ‘to support’
dark, firm, dry, dare, throne, drama, feasible, drone, formidable, darn, dharma, drastic, dazed, refrain, dor, dern, 41 more
through Proto-Indo-European *dʰrewgʰ- ‘to deceive’
dream, fraud, drudge, truculent, druggist, 16 more
through Proto-Germanic *draugiz ‘hard, solid’
Today it means
noun A conduit allowing liquid to flow out of an otherwise contained volume; a plughole (UK)
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Germanic *draugiz / drain