doe

doe · noun¹

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*dʰeh₁(y)-“to suck (milk), to suckle”
2. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*daihā“female deer, mother deer”
3. Old English · inherited fromdā
4. Middle English · inherited fromdo“(female) fallow deer”
5. English todaydoe

From Middle English do (“(female) fallow deer”), from Old English dā, from Proto-West Germanic *daihā (“female deer, mother deer”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁(y)- (“to suck (milk), to suckle”). Cognate with Middle Scots da, dae (“female fallow deer”), Danish då (“fallow deer”), Sanskrit धेनु (dhenú, “cow, milk-cow”), Old English dēon (“to suckle”), Old English delu (“teat”). Related also to female, filial, fetus.

Doe · proper noun²

1. Latin · derived fromAugusta
2. Frankish · derived from*auwju“island, water meadow”
3. Old French · derived fromd'
4. English todayDoe

* As an English and Scottish surname, from the noun doe. * As a Norman surname, from Old French d' Eu, from Eu, Seine-Maritime. That city's name could be from Frankish *auwju (“island, water meadow”) or otherwise a reduction of Latin Augusta.

Words from the same roots