Etymograph

English

dealing

Dealing comes from Middle English delynge ‘dealing out’, from Old English dǣling, equivalent to deal + -ing.

  1. Old Englishc. 450–1150dǣling1
  2. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500delynge1‘dealing out’
  3. Englishearliest quotation c. 1596–1598dealing1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English dealing
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1596–1598, William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice: “Shylock: O father Abram, what these Christians are, Whose…”.

Lineage

  1. Old Englishc. 450–1150dǣlingWiktionary, English dealing
  2. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500delyngeWiktionary, English dealing‘dealing out’
  3. Englishearliest quotation c. 1596–1598dealingWiktionary, English dealing. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1596–1598, William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice: “Shylock: O father Abram, what these Christians are, Whose…”

Formed from deal + -ing

Proto-Germanic *dailiz ‘part’

Proto-West Germanic *daili ‘part’

Old English dǣl ‘part’

Middle English del ‘a part’

English deal

Every English word from Old English dǣling

Today it means

noun A business transaction.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “dealing”. 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 / Old English dǣling / dealing

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