English
doos
Doos comes from Afrikaans doos ‘box’, from Latin dosis ‘prescribed portion of medication’, and perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *deh₃- ‘to give’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*deh₃-1‘to give’uncertain
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*déh₃tis2‘giving’uncertain
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*dótis2‘act of giving’uncertain
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEδόσις2‘a portion prescribed’literally ‘a giving’uncertain
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdosis3‘prescribed portion of medication’uncertain
- Middle Dutchc. 1150–1500dose3
- Dutchc. 1500–presentdoos4‘box’
- Afrikaansmoderndoos4‘box’
- Englishearliest quotation 2018doos4
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *déh₃tis
- 2 Wiktionary, Latin dosis
- 3 Wiktionary, Dutch doos
- 4 Wiktionary, English doos
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2018, Marius, Which African Country is most likely to become developed?: “Julius is, to use a South African term, a…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*deh₃-Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *déh₃tis‘to give’uncertain
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*déh₃tisWiktionary, Latin dosis‘giving’uncertain
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*dótisWiktionary, Latin dosis‘act of giving’uncertain
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEδόσιςWiktionary, Latin dosis‘a portion prescribed’literally ‘a giving’uncertain
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdosisWiktionary, Dutch doos‘prescribed portion of medication’uncertain
- Middle Dutchc. 1150–1500doseWiktionary, Dutch doos
- Dutchc. 1500–presentdoosWiktionary, English doos‘box’
- AfrikaansmoderndoosWiktionary, English doos‘box’
- Englishearliest quotation 2018doosWiktionary, English doos. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2018, Marius, Which African Country is most likely to become developed?: “Julius is, to use a South African term, a…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *deh₃- ‘to give’
data, date, add, die, addition, rent, tradition, delicious, surrender, treason, vent, render, donate, donation, donor, vendor, rendition, additive, rendezvous, antidote, anecdote, addendum, condone, perdition, dative, dacha, dati, sconce, 38 more
through Proto-Indo-European *déh₃tis ‘giving’
dow, dowry, dowager, endow, dower, 4 more
through Latin dosis ‘prescribed portion of medication’
Today it means
noun vagina
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “doos”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Indo-European *déh₃tis, Latin dosis, Dutch doos. 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 *deh₃- / doos