Etymograph

English

dough

Dough comes from Proto-Indo-European *dʰeyǵʰ- ‘to knead, form, mold’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰeyǵʰ-1‘to knead, form, mold’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*daigaz1reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*daig1reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150dāg1
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500dow1
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1906dough1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English dough
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1906, O. Henry, From the Cabby's Seat: “I want to see four dollars before goin' any…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰeyǵʰ-Wiktionary, English dough‘to knead, form, mold’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*daigazWiktionary, English doughreconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*daigWiktionary, English doughreconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150dāgWiktionary, English dough
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500dowWiktionary, English dough
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1906doughWiktionary, English dough. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1906, O. Henry, From the Cabby's Seat: “I want to see four dollars before goin' any…”

The story

The derivation of the second meaning (of money) is obscure, but dates to the mid 19th century.uncertain The source flags this step as uncertain.

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *dʰeyǵʰ- ‘to knead, form, mold’

figure, lady, fiction, paradise, dairy, faint, dey, fictitious, effigy, feign, figment, feint, 26 more

Today it means

noun A thick, malleable substance made by mixing flour with other ingredients such as water, eggs, or butter, that is made into a particular form and then baked.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “dough”. 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 *dʰeyǵʰ- / dough

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