Etymology

drunk

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Today it means: Intoxicated as a result of excessive alcohol consumption, usually by drinking alcoholic beverages. Full definition →

Middle English drunke ← Old English druncen ← Proto-Germanic *drunkanaz
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The story

  1. Proto-Germanic · derived from*drinkaną“to drink”
  2. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*drunkanaz
  3. Old English · inherited fromdruncen
  4. Middle English · inherited fromdrunke
  5. English todaydrunk

From Middle English drunke, drunken, ydrunke, ydrunken, from Old English druncen, ġedruncen (“drunk”), from Proto-Germanic *drunkanaz, *gadrunkanaz (“drunk; drunken”), past participle of Proto-Germanic *drinkaną (“to drink”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian dronken, West Frisian dronken, Dutch dronken, gedronken, German Low German drunken, bedrunken, German trunken, getrunken, betrunken, Swedish drucken, Icelandic drukkinn.

Words from the same roots

Proto-Germanic*drinkaną all →

drink

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.