English
droll
Droll comes from French drôle ‘comical, odd, funny’, from Middle French drolle ‘a merry fellow, pleasant rascal’, and ultimately from Proto-Germanic *truzlą ‘a supernatural being’.
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*truzlą‘a supernatural being’reconstructed
- Old Norsec. 800–1350troll‘a supernatural being, often evil’
- Middle Dutchc. 1150–1500drol‘fat little man, goblin’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400drolle‘one who lives luxuriously’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600same form‘a merry fellow, pleasant rascal’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentdrôle‘comical, odd, funny’
- Englishearliest quotation 1751droll
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*truzlą‘a supernatural being’reconstructed
- Old Norsec. 800–1350troll‘a supernatural being, often evil’
- Middle Dutchc. 1150–1500drol‘fat little man, goblin’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400drolle‘one who lives luxuriously’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600same form‘a merry fellow, pleasant rascal’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentdrôle‘comical, odd, funny’
- Englishearliest quotation 1751droll
Earliest quotation: 1751, Tobias Smollett, The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle […]: “The lieutenant was a droll in his way, Peregrine…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *dr- ‘to run’
through Proto-Germanic *trudaną ‘to tread, step on’
through Old Norse troll ‘a supernatural being, often evil’
Today it means
adj Oddly humorous; whimsical, amusing in a quaint way; waggish.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Germanic *truzlą / droll