English
dright
Dright comes from Old English driht ‘a multitude, an army, company, body of…’, from Proto-West Germanic *druhti ‘war band, troop’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *dʰrewgʰ- ‘to hold, hold fast, support’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰrewgʰ-‘to hold, hold fast, support’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*druhtiz‘troop, following’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*druhti‘war band, troop’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150driht‘a multitude, an army, company, body of retainers, nation, a people, men’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500drihte
- Englishearliest quotation 1943dright
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰrewgʰ-‘to hold, hold fast, support’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*druhtiz‘troop, following’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*druhti‘war band, troop’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150driht‘a multitude, an army, company, body of retainers, nation, a people, men’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500drihte
- Englishearliest quotation 1943dright
Earliest quotation: 1943, ELH.: “[…] and Finn's compatriots were of course his subjects;…”
The story
Related also to German Truchsess (‘steward’), from Middle High German truhtsæze (“chairman of a multitude, steward”, literally “sitting one/presider next to/in front of a multitude". The meaning "multitude" survives in present day German in the sense of "representing a court”), from Old High German truhtsāzzo.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *dʰrewgʰ- ‘to hold, hold fast, support’
Today it means
noun A multitude; army; host.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *dʰrewgʰ- / dright