Etymograph

English

drawing

Drawing comes from Middle English drauing.

  1. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500drauing1
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1853drawing1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English drawing
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1853, Alice Cary: “[…] the tea-kettle was presently steaming like an engine,…”.

Lineage

  1. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500drauingWiktionary, English drawing
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1853drawingWiktionary, English drawing. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1853, Alice Cary: “[…] the tea-kettle was presently steaming like an engine,…”

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Today it means

noun A picture, likeness, diagram or representation, usually drawn on paper.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “drawing”. 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 / Middle English drauing / drawing