Etymograph

English

derris

Derris comes from Ancient Greek δέρρις ‘leather, skin’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *der- ‘to tear, tear apart’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*der-1‘to tear, tear apart’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*dérō1reconstructed
  3. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEδέρω2dérō‘I skin, I flay’
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEδέρρις2dérrhis‘leather, skin’
  5. mulmodernDerris2
  6. Englishtodayderris2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek δέρω
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English derris

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*der-Wiktionary, Ancient Greek δέρω‘to tear, tear apart’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*dérōWiktionary, Ancient Greek δέρωreconstructed
  3. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEδέρωWiktionary, English derrisdérō‘I skin, I flay’
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEδέρριςWiktionary, English derrisdérrhis‘leather, skin’
  5. mulmodernDerrisWiktionary, English derris
  6. EnglishtodayderrisWiktionary, English derris

Linked words

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

truck, tear, tart, turd, tirade, tarn, 14 more

through Proto-Hellenic *dérō

derma, 7 more

through Ancient Greek δέρω ‘I skin, I flay’

dermatology, dermatitis, pander, dermis, derm, 8 more

Today it means

noun A climbing leguminous plant of Southeast Asia and the southwest Pacific Islands, Derris elliptica, whose roots are a source of rotenone.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “derris”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Ancient Greek δέρω. 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- / derris

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