English
dyke
Dyke comes from Old Norse díki ‘ditch’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *dʰeygʷ- ‘to dig’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰeygʷ-‘to dig’root as named · steps between not traced
- Old Norsec. 800–1350díki‘ditch’
- Northern Middle Englishmoderndik
- Englishearliest quotation 1722dyke
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰeygʷ-‘to dig’root as named · steps between not traced
- Old Norsec. 800–1350díki‘ditch’
- Northern Middle Englishmoderndik
- Englishearliest quotation 1722dyke
Earliest quotation: 1722, Alexander Nisbet, A System of Heraldry Speculative and Practical: “Inchbrakie gives for Arms, Or, a Dyke (or Wall)…”
The story
Influenced by Middle Dutch dijc (‘ditch; dam’) and Middle Low German dīk (‘dam’). The semantic evolution (also seen in several cognate words) was from "stick (a spade) into" to "dig" to "hole or other product of digging", "excavation", then the ridge of earth created when excavating a ditch, then to a ridge of earth intended to prevent flooding.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *dʰeygʷ- ‘to dig’
final, fine, finish, fix, definition, dig, infinite, ditch, infinity, finite, fin, financier, crucify, infinitive, fino, finis, finial, 23 more
through Northern Middle English dik
Today it means
noun An earthwork raised to prevent inundation of low land by the sea or flooding rivers.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *dʰeygʷ- / dyke