dole

dole · noun, verb¹

1. Proto-Indo-European · inherited from*dʰayl-“part, watershed”
2. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*dailą“part, deal”
3. Old English · inherited fromdāl“portion, share, division, allotment”
4. Middle English · inherited fromdol
5. English todaydole

From Middle English dol, from Old English dāl (“portion, share, division, allotment”), from Proto-Germanic *dailą (“part, deal”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰayl- (“part, watershed”). Cognate with Polish dola (“fate, cut”), Old Church Slavonic дѣлити (děliti, “divide”). More at deal. First attested in the late 12th c. The verb is first attested in the mid-15th c.

dole · noun²

1. Latin · derived fromdoleo
2. Late Latin · derived fromdolus
3. Old French · derived fromdoel
4. Middle English · inherited fromdole“grief”
5. English todaydole

From Middle English dole (“grief”), from Old French doel (compare French deuil), from Late Latin dolus, from Latin doleo.

Dole · proper noun³

1. Latin · derived fromdoleo“to hurt”
2. Old French · derived fromdolé
3. English todayDole

* As an English surname, from the archaic noun dole (“portion, share”). * As a French surname, from Old French dolé, past participle of doler (“to regret”), from Latin doleo (“to hurt”). * Also as a French surname, Americanized from Daul.

First known use, by meaning

• late 12th c. Distribution; dealing; apportionment.
• late 12th c. Distribution of alms or gifts.
• late 15th c. Money or other goods given as charity.
• 1919 Payment by the state to the unemployed; unemployment benefits.
• mid-15th c. To distribute alms, etc., in small amounts; to share out small portions of a meager resource.
• 1749 To distribute (as, alms) in small amounts; to share out (small portions of a meager resource).