Etymograph

English

dicky

Dicky may come from Dutch dek ‘a cover’, and goes back to Proto-Germanic *þakjaną.

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*þakjaną1uncertain
  2. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*þakkjan1uncertain
  3. Old Dutchc. 500–1150thecken1‘to cover’uncertain
  4. Middle Dutchc. 1150–1500decken1‘to cover’uncertain
  5. Middle Dutchc. 1150–1500dec1uncertain
  6. Dutchc. 1500–presentdek2‘a cover’uncertain
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1831dicky2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Dutch dek
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English dicky
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1831, Letitia Elizabeth Landon, Romance and Reality. […]: “...and she was just in time to see Mr.…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*þakjanąWiktionary, Dutch dekuncertain
  2. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*þakkjanWiktionary, Dutch dekuncertain
  3. Old Dutchc. 500–1150theckenWiktionary, Dutch dek‘to cover’uncertain
  4. Middle Dutchc. 1150–1500deckenWiktionary, Dutch dek‘to cover’uncertain
  5. Middle Dutchc. 1150–1500decWiktionary, Dutch dekuncertain
  6. Dutchc. 1500–presentdekWiktionary, English dicky‘a cover’uncertain
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1831dickyWiktionary, English dicky. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1831, Letitia Elizabeth Landon, Romance and Reality. […]: “...and she was just in time to see Mr.…”

Linked words

through Proto-Germanic *þakjaną

tian, 2 more

through Proto-West Germanic *þakkjan

thatch, 1 more

through Middle Dutch dec

deck

Today it means

noun A louse.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “dicky”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Dutch dek. 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 *þakjaną / dicky

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