Etymograph

English

dry

Dry comes from Old English drȳġe ‘dry’, from Proto-Germanic *drūgiz ‘hard, dry’, possibly ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *dʰerǵʰ- ‘to be firm’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰerǵʰ-‘to bind fast; to be firm’uncertain
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*drūgiz‘hard, solid; dry’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*drūgī‘dry’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150drȳġe‘dry’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500drye‘not wet’
  6. Englishearliest quotation c. 1601–1602dry

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰerǵʰ-‘to bind fast; to be firm’uncertain
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*drūgiz‘hard, solid; dry’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*drūgī‘dry’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150drȳġe‘dry’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500drye‘not wet’
  6. Englishearliest quotation c. 1601–1602dry

Earliest quotation: c. 1601–1602, William Shakespeare, Twelfe Night, or What You Will: “Ol. Go too, y'are a dry foole: Ile no…”

The story

Related also to German trocken (‘dry’), West Frisian drege (‘long-lasting’), Danish drøj (‘tough’), Swedish dryg (‘lasting, hard’), Icelandic drjúgur (‘ample, long’), Latin firmus (‘strong, firm, stable, durable’).

Linked words

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

dark, firm, drug, dare, drama, throne, feasible, drain, formidable, refrain, darn, drone, drastic, dharma, dazed, dor, dern, 42 more

through Proto-Indo-European *dʰerǵʰ- ‘to strengthen’

comfort, 1 more

through Middle English drye ‘not wet or lacking rain’

dryness

Today it means

adj Free from or lacking moisture.

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

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *dʰerǵʰ- / dry

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