Etymograph

English

domestique

Domestique comes from French domestique ‘domestic servant, maid’, from Latin domus ‘home, house’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *dem- ‘to build’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dem-1‘to build’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dṓm1‘house, home’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*domos1‘house, home’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdomus2‘home, house’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdomesticus2‘of the house, domestic’
  6. Frenchc. 1600–presentdomestique2‘domestic servant, maid’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 2003domestique2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin domus
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English domestique
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2003, Matt Majendie, Domestique Bliss: “In a recent poll [Sean] Yates was voted one…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dem-Wiktionary, Latin domus‘to build’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dṓmWiktionary, Latin domus‘house, home’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*domosWiktionary, Latin domus‘house, home’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdomusWiktionary, English domestique‘home, house’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdomesticusWiktionary, English domestique‘of the house, domestic’
  6. Frenchc. 1600–presentdomestiqueWiktionary, English domestique‘domestic servant, maid’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 2003domestiqueWiktionary, English domestique. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2003, Matt Majendie, Domestique Bliss: “In a recent poll [Sean] Yates was voted one…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *dem- ‘to build’

timber, domino, despotic, domaine, toft, teem, 20 more

through Proto-Indo-European *dṓm ‘house, home’

danger, don, domain, dominate, domination, damsel, despot, dominatrix, 21 more

through Latin domus ‘home, house’

donna, dominion, domicile, domus, 10 more

Today it means

noun A cyclist on a cycle racing team whose role is to assist the team's designated leaders (for example, by riding in front of them to create a slipstream, or to set the pace), even if at the expense of their own individual performance.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “domestique”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin domus. 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 *dem- / domestique

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