Etymograph

English

danger

Danger comes from Middle English daunger ‘power, dominion’, from Old French dangier, from Vulgar Latin *dom(i)niarium, from Latin dominium, from dominus ‘master’.

  1. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*domVnos1‘master’reconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdominus2‘master, owner’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdominium3‘rule, dominion’
  4. Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*dom(i)niarium3‘authority, power’reconstructed
  5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400dangier1‘difficulty; danger’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500daunger1‘power, dominion, peril’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1500danger1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English danger
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin dominium
  3. 3 Wiktionary, Old French dangier
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1500, Melusine:: “They of Coloyne made grete daunger to lete passe…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*domVnosWiktionary, English danger‘master’reconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdominusWiktionary, Latin dominium‘master, owner’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdominiumWiktionary, Old French dangier‘rule, dominion’
  4. Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*dom(i)niariumWiktionary, Old French dangier‘authority, power’reconstructed
  5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400dangierWiktionary, English danger‘difficulty; danger’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500daungerWiktionary, English danger‘power, dominion, peril’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1500dangerWiktionary, English danger. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1500, Melusine:: “They of Coloyne made grete daunger to lete passe…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *dem- ‘to build (up)’

timber, despotic, domesticate, toft, teem, 19 more

through Proto-Indo-European *dṓm ‘home’

domestic, domicile, despot, domus, 20 more

through Latin dominus ‘master, lord’

do, don, dominate, donna, dan, domination, dame, domino, dungeon, damsel, dominatrix, dominus, domaine, domine, 7 more

through Latin dominium ‘ownership’

domain, dominion, 4 more

Today it means

noun Exposure to likely harm; risk of death or serious injury.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “danger”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin dominium, Old French dangier. 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 / Proto-Italic *domVnos / danger

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