English
daunt
Daunt comes from Middle English daunten ‘to attain victory and control over’, from Old French danter ‘to tame’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *demh₂-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*demh₂-1‘to domesticate, tame’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*domaō1reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdomō1‘tame, conquer’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdomitō1‘tame’frequentative of domō
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400danter1‘to tame’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500daunten1‘to attain victory and control over’
- Englishearliest quotation 1611daunt1
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English daunt
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1611, Iohn Speed [i.e., John Speed]: “[The English] valiantly, and with the ſlaughter of many,…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*demh₂-Wiktionary, English daunt‘to domesticate, tame’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*domaōWiktionary, English dauntreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdomōWiktionary, English daunt‘tame, conquer’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdomitōWiktionary, English daunt‘tame’frequentative of domō
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400danterWiktionary, English daunt‘to tame’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500dauntenWiktionary, English daunt‘to attain victory and control over’
- Englishearliest quotation 1611dauntWiktionary, English daunt. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1611, Iohn Speed [i.e., John Speed]: “[The English] valiantly, and with the ſlaughter of many,…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *demh₂- ‘to domesticate, tame’
diamond, adamant, diamante, 12 more
through Latin domō ‘tame, conquer’
Today it means
verb To discourage, intimidate.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “daunt”. 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 *demh₂- / daunt