Etymograph

English

dell

Dell comes from Middle English delle ‘a dale or dell’, and goes back to Proto-Germanic *dalą.

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*dalą1‘valley, dale’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*daljō2‘a dell’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*dalljā2reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150dell2‘small dale’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500delle2‘a dale or dell’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1722dell2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *daljō
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English dell
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1722, Thomas Tickell: “In dells and dales, conceal'd from human sight.”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*daląWiktionary, Proto-Germanic *daljō‘valley, dale’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*daljōWiktionary, English dell‘a dell’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*dalljāWiktionary, English dellreconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150dellWiktionary, English dell‘small dale’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500delleWiktionary, English dell‘a dale or dell’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1722dellWiktionary, English dell. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1722, Thomas Tickell: “In dells and dales, conceal'd from human sight.”

Linked words

through Proto-Germanic *dalą ‘valley, dale’

dollar, dale, tala, dalles, 16 more

Today it means

noun A small, deep, and wooded valley or sunken area of ground, especially in the form of a natural hollow.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “dell”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Proto-Germanic *daljō. 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-Germanic *dalą / dell

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