Etymology

desk

D2E1S1K5

Today it means: A table, frame, or case, in past centuries usually with a sloping top but now usually with a flat top, for the use of writers and readers. It often has a drawer or repository underneath. Full definition →

Middle English deske ← Medieval Latin desca ← Old Italian desco
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The story

  1. German · derived fromTisch
  2. Latin · derived fromdiscus
  3. Old Italian · derived fromdesco
  4. Medieval Latin · derived fromdesca
  5. Middle English · inherited fromdeske
  6. English todaydesk

From Middle English deske, desque, from Medieval Latin desca, modified from Old Italian desco, from Latin discus. Doublet of dais, disc, discus, dish, disk, and diskos. See also German Tisch, "table".

Words from the same roots

Latindiscus all →

discdishdiscusdiscous

GermanTisch all →

Tisch

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.