Etymograph

English

distrait

Distrait comes from Latin distrahō ‘to distract’, from trahō ‘to drag’, and perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *dʰregʰ-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰregʰ-1‘to run, to drag, to pull’uncertain
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtrahō1‘to drag’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdistrahō2‘to distract’
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400destrait2
  5. Frenchc. 1600–presentdistrait3
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1817distrait3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin distraho
  2. 2 Wiktionary, French distrait
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English distrait
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1817, Frances Brooke: “But to return to our friend Desmond:—he was too…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰregʰ-Wiktionary, Latin distraho‘to run, to drag, to pull’uncertain
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtrahōWiktionary, Latin distraho‘to drag’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdistrahōWiktionary, French distrait‘to distract’
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400destraitWiktionary, French distrait
  5. Frenchc. 1600–presentdistraitWiktionary, English distrait
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1817distraitWiktionary, English distrait. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1817, Frances Brooke: “But to return to our friend Desmond:—he was too…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *dʰregʰ- ‘to run, to drag, to pull’

draw, draft, train, drag, retreat, extraction, contraction, draught, abstraction, retract, subtraction, entreat, abstractly, 48 more

through Latin trahō ‘to drag’

contract, treat, attractive, attraction, extract, abstract, portrait, traction, tractor, tract, tram, trattoria, 36 more

Today it means

adj absent-minded, troubled, distracted

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “distrait”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin distraho, French distrait. 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 *dʰregʰ- / distrait

Shirt and support for this word