Etymograph

English

dartars

Dartars comes from French dartre ‘eruption, dandruff’, from Latin derbita ‘a disease of the skin, impetigo’, and perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *der- ‘to tear apart’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*der-1‘to tear apart’uncertain
  2. Proto-Celticc. 1300–800 BCE*derweitā1‘a skin condition that causes rashes or pustules’reconstructed
  3. Gaulishc. 500 BCE–500 CE*deruētā1reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEderbita2‘a disease of the skin, impetigo’
  5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400dertre2
  6. Frenchc. 1600–presentdartre3‘eruption, dandruff’
  7. Englishtodaydartars3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin derbita
  2. 2 Wiktionary, French dartre
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English dartars

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*der-Wiktionary, Latin derbita‘to tear apart’uncertain
  2. Proto-Celticc. 1300–800 BCE*derweitāWiktionary, Latin derbita‘a skin condition that causes rashes or pustules’reconstructed
  3. Gaulishc. 500 BCE–500 CE*deruētāWiktionary, Latin derbitareconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEderbitaWiktionary, French dartre‘a disease of the skin, impetigo’
  5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400dertreWiktionary, French dartre
  6. Frenchc. 1600–presentdartreWiktionary, English dartars‘eruption, dandruff’
  7. EnglishtodaydartarsWiktionary, English dartars

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *der- ‘to tear apart’

truck, tear, turd, dermatology, dermatitis, tirade, pander, tart, dermis, derm, tarn, 15 more

Today it means

noun A kind of scab or ulceration on the skin of lambs.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “dartars”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin derbita, French dartre. 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-Indo-European *der- / dartars

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