Etymograph

English

dad

Dad comes from Middle English *dadde.

  1. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500*dadde1reconstructed
  2. Englishearliest quotation 2025dad1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English dad
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2025, Madeline Holcombe, How to be a dad to sons today, according to experts: “A lot of the power for dads comes in…”.

Lineage

  1. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500*daddeWiktionary, English dadreconstructed
  2. Englishearliest quotation 2025dadWiktionary, English dad. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2025, Madeline Holcombe, How to be a dad to sons today, according to experts: “A lot of the power for dads comes in…”

The story

From Early Modern English dadd, dadde (circa 1500), undoubtedly older, from unrecorded Middle English *dadde, of uncertain ultimate origin.uncertain The source flags this step as uncertain.

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Every English word from Middle English *dadde

Today it means

noun A father, a male parent.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “dad”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Middle English *dadde / dad

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