darken

The story

1. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*dirkinōn“to darken”
2. Old English · derived from*deorcnian
3. Middle English · inherited fromderkenen
4. English todaydarken

From Middle English derkenen, dirkenen, from Old English *deorcnian, *diercnian (“to darken”), from Proto-West Germanic *dirkinōn (“to darken”), equivalent to dark + -en. Cognate with Scots derken, durken (“to darken”), Old High German tarchanjan, terchinen (“to darken”), Middle High German terken, derken (“to darken”).