Etymograph

English

dial

Dial comes from Latin diālis ‘daily, concerning the day’, from Proto-Italic *djous ‘sky’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *dyew-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dyew-1‘sky, heaven’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dyḗws1‘sky, heaven’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*djous1‘sky’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdiēs1‘day’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdiālis1‘daily, concerning the day’
  6. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600dyal1
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500diall1‘a pointer on a dial’
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1918dial1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English dial
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1918, Norman Lindsay, The Magic Pudding: “Well, all I can say is that if yer…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dyew-Wiktionary, English dial‘sky, heaven’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dyḗwsWiktionary, English dial‘sky, heaven’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*djousWiktionary, English dial‘sky’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdiēsWiktionary, English dial‘day’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdiālisWiktionary, English dial‘daily, concerning the day’
  6. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600dyalWiktionary, English dial
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500diallWiktionary, English dial‘a pointer on a dial’
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1918dialWiktionary, English dial. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1918, Norman Lindsay, The Magic Pudding: “Well, all I can say is that if yer…”

The story

The original meaning was 'sundial' and/or 'clock dial'; from Middle English diall, from Middle French dyal, from Latin diālis (‘daily, concerning the day’), because of its use in telling the time of day, from Latin diēs (‘day’).

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *dyew- ‘sky, heaven’

divine, dev, deity, divinity, joss, diva, deuce, div, deva, divination, deism, jovial, deist, 28 more

through Proto-Indo-European *dyḗws ‘sky, heaven’

journalism, 12 more

through Latin diēs ‘day’

journey, die, journal, diary, meridian, sojourn, diurnal, 11 more

Today it means

noun A graduated, circular scale over which a needle moves to show a measurement (such as speed).

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “dial”. 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 *dyew- / dial

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