English
drainage
Drainage 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
- English1500–presentdrain
- Englishearliest quotation 1960drainage
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
- English1500–presentdrain
- Englishearliest quotation 1960drainage
Earliest quotation: 1960, N. P. Rusin, The Radiation Balance of the Snow Surface of Antarctica: “In the forward part of the cyclone, drainage katabasis…”
A compound of drain + -age
Proto-Germanic *draugiz ‘hard, solid’
Proto-Germanic *drauhnōną
Proto-West Germanic *drauhnōn
Old English drēahnian ‘to drain’
Middle English *dreinen
English drain
Linked words
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 natural or artificial means for the removal of fluids from a given area by its draining away.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Germanic *draugiz / drainage