Etymograph

English

draft

Draft is a phonetic spelling of draught, from Middle English draught, from Old English *dreaht, from Proto-Germanic *drahtuz ‘a pulling’, from *draganą ‘to draw’.

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*draganą1‘to draw’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*drahtuz2‘a pulling’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*drahti2reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150*dreaht2reconstructed
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500draught2
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1801draft2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *drahtuz
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English draft
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1801, Surveys 43, George Davis McJimsey: “Crossing several ridges & hollows & two small drafts…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*draganąWiktionary, Proto-Germanic *drahtuz‘to draw’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*drahtuzWiktionary, English draft‘a pulling’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*drahtiWiktionary, English draftreconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150*dreahtWiktionary, English draftreconstructed
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500draughtWiktionary, English draft
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1801draftWiktionary, English draft. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1801, Surveys 43, George Davis McJimsey: “Crossing several ridges & hollows & two small drafts…”

The story

A phonetic spelling of draught (compare laughter), from Middle English draught, draght (‘that which is pulled; that which is drawn up, a design’), from Old English *dreaht, *dræht, from Proto-West Germanic *drahti, *drahtu, from Proto-Germanic *drahtuz (‘a pulling, drawing’).

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Word family

English words that share an ancestor with draft, grouped by the ancestor they share, most familiar first.

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

  • train ← trayne ← traïner ← *tragīnāre ← trahere
  • attractive ← attractif ← attractīvus ← attrahō ← trahō
  • retreat ← retret ← retrait ← retractus ← retraho
  • portrait ← portraict ← portraire ← prōtrahō ← trahō
  • attraction ← attraccioun ← attractiō ← attrahō ← trahō
  • extraction ← estraction ← extractio ← extrahō ← trahō
  • withdraw ← withdrawen
  • distraction ← distractio ← distrahō ← trahō
  • tract ← traht ← tractus ← trahō
  • entreat ← entreten ← entraiter ← entraiter ← tractō

through Proto-Indo-European *dʰrógʰ-e-ti

  • drawing ← drauinge ← dragende ← *dragandz ← *draganą
  • drawer ← drawen ← dragan ← *dragan ← *draganą

57 more relatives in the full family tree

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Today it means

noun Senses relating to a current or flow or an amount which flows: A current of air, usually coming into a room or vehicle.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “draft”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Proto-Germanic *drahtuz. 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 *draganą / draft