Etymograph

English

drighten

Drighten comes from Old English dryhten ‘a ruler, king, lord, prince, the supreme…’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *dʰrewgʰ- ‘to hold, hold fast, support’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰrewgʰ-‘to hold, hold fast, support’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*druhtinaz‘leader, chief, lord’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*druhtin‘leader of a troop, lord’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150dryhten‘a ruler, king, lord, prince, the supreme ruler, the Lord, God, Christ’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500drighte
  6. Englishearliest quotation 2010drighten

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰrewgʰ-‘to hold, hold fast, support’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*druhtinaz‘leader, chief, lord’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*druhtin‘leader of a troop, lord’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150dryhten‘a ruler, king, lord, prince, the supreme ruler, the Lord, God, Christ’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500drighte
  6. Englishearliest quotation 2010drighten

Earliest quotation: 2010, Stephan Grundy: “Believe me, my drighten, there is not one of…”

The story

Related also to Old English dryht (‘troop, army’), Old English ġedryht (‘troop, body of men’), Old English drēogan (‘to serve in the military, endure’).

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *dʰrewgʰ- ‘to hold, hold fast, support’

dream, drug, fraud, drain, drudge, truculent, 16 more

Today it means

noun A lord; ruler; sovereign; chief; leader; prince.

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

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *dʰrewgʰ- / drighten

Shirt and support for this word