Etymograph

English

turd

Turd comes from Old English tord ‘piece of dung, excrement, filth’, from Proto-Germanic *turdą ‘manure, mud’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *der- ‘to split, flay’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*der-‘to split, flay’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*turdą‘manure, mud’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*tord‘dung, excrement’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150tord‘piece of dung, excrement, filth’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500toord
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1658turd

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*der-‘to split, flay’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*turdą‘manure, mud’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*tord‘dung, excrement’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150tord‘piece of dung, excrement, filth’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500toord
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1658turd

Earliest quotation: 1658, John Mennes; James Smith, A Poeticall Poem, by Mr. Stephen Locket to Mistrisse Bess Sa: “Thy teeth more comely than two dirty rakes are,…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *der- ‘to split, flay’

truck, tear, tart, dermatology, dermatitis, tirade, pander, tarn, dermis, derm, 16 more

Today it means

noun A piece of solid feces.

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

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *der- / turd

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