Etymology

drunken

drunk·en
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Today it means: Drunk, in the state of intoxication after having drunk an alcoholic beverage. Full definition →

Middle English drunken ← Old English druncen ← Proto-Germanic *drunkanaz
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drunken · verb, adjective1

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

From Middle English drunken, ydronken, idrunken, from Old English druncen, ġedruncen (“drunk; drunken”), from Proto-Germanic *drunkanaz (“drunken”), past participle of Proto-Germanic *drinkaną (“to drink”), equivalent to drink + -en. Cognate with West Frisian dronken (“drunk; drunken”), Dutch dronken (“drunk; drunken”), German betrunken (“drunk; drunken”), Swedish drucken (“drunk; drunken”).

drunken · verb2

  1. Proto-Germanic · derived from*drunkanaz“drunk; intoxicated”
  2. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*drunkanōną“to get drunk”
  3. Old English · inherited fromdruncnian“to drown; get drunk”
  4. Middle English · inherited fromdronknen
  5. English todaydrunken

From Middle English dronknen, drunkenen, drunknen, from Old English druncnian (“to drown; get drunk”), from Proto-Germanic *drunkanōną (“to get drunk”), from Proto-Germanic *drunkanaz (“drunk; intoxicated”). Cognate with Norwegian drukne, drukna, Icelandic drukna.

Words from the same roots

Proto-Germanic*drinkaną all →

drink

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.