English
dye
Dye comes from Old English dēah ‘color, hue, dye’, from Proto-West Germanic *daugan ‘to conceal, be dark’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *dʰewh₂- ‘to smoke, raise dust, camouflage’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰewh₂-‘to smoke, raise dust, camouflage’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*daugan‘to conceal, be dark’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanic, derivedc. 200–500 CE*daugu‘color, shade’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150dēah‘color, hue, dye’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500deye
- Englishearliest quotation 2026dye
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰewh₂-‘to smoke, raise dust, camouflage’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*daugan‘to conceal, be dark’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanic, derivedc. 200–500 CE*daugu‘color, shade’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150dēah‘color, hue, dye’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500deye
- Englishearliest quotation 2026dye
Earliest quotation: 2026, Katherine Augustine, Dyeing in the Baking Aisle: “While the yarn is soaking in its water and…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *dʰewh₂- ‘to smoke, raise dust, camouflage’
down, steam, funk, dew, dun, dune, duvet, dag, fume, thymus, obfuscate, fumigation, typhon, 27 more
through Middle English deye
Another origin of dye
- Old Englishc. 450–1150dēagian‘to dye’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500deien
- Englishtodaydye
Today it means
noun A colorant, especially one that has an affinity to the substrate to which it is applied.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.