Etymograph

English

deep

Deep comes from Middle English dep ‘deep’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *dʰewbʰ-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰewbʰ-1reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*deupaz1reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*deup1reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150dēop1‘deep’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500dep1‘deep’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1591deep1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English deep
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1591, William Shakespeare, The Second Part of Henry the Sixt, […]: “Smooth runnes the Water, where the Brooke is deepe,”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰewbʰ-Wiktionary, English deepreconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*deupazWiktionary, English deepreconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*deupWiktionary, English deepreconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150dēopWiktionary, English deep‘deep’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500depWiktionary, English deep‘deep’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1591deepWiktionary, English deep. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1591, William Shakespeare, The Second Part of Henry the Sixt, […]: “Smooth runnes the Water, where the Brooke is deepe,”

Word family

English words that share an ancestor with deep, grouped by the ancestor they share, most familiar first.

through Proto-Indo-European *dʰewbʰ-

  • bottom ← botme ← botm ← *butm ← *butmaz
  • fund ← fundus ← *fundos ← *bʰundʰós ← *bʰudʰnós
  • foundation ← foundacioun ← fondacion ← fundātiō ← fundō
  • dumb ← *dumbaz
  • dave ← deven ← dēafian ← dēaf ← *daub
  • founder ← fondeur ← fundātor ← fundō ← fundus
  • dip ← dippen ← dyppan ← *duppjan ← *dupjaną
  • fond ← fundus ← *fundos ← *bʰundʰós ← *bʰudʰnós
  • bot ← bottom ← botme ← botm ← *botm
  • dove ← douve ← *dūfe ← *dūbā ← *dūbǭ
  • dub ← dubben ← dubbian ← adober ← *dubbōn
  • deaf ← def ← *daub ← *daubaz

28 more relatives in the full family tree

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Today it means

adj Extending far down from the top, or surface, to the bottom, literally or figuratively.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “deep”. 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 *dʰewbʰ- / deep