Etymograph

English

drift

Drift comes from Proto-Indo-European *dʰreybʰ- ‘to drive, push’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰreybʰ-1‘to drive, push’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*driftiz1reconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150*drift1reconstructed
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500drift1
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1332drift1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English drift
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1332, author unknown: “The dragon drew him [self] away with drift of…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰreybʰ-Wiktionary, English drift‘to drive, push’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*driftizWiktionary, English driftreconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150*driftWiktionary, English driftreconstructed
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500driftWiktionary, English drift
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1332driftWiktionary, English drift. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1332, author unknown: “The dragon drew him [self] away with drift of…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *dʰreybʰ- ‘to drive, push’

drive, driving, drove, 3 more

Today it means

noun Anything driven at random.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “drift”. 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 *dʰreybʰ- / drift

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