Etymograph

English

druzhina

Druzhina comes from Russian дружи́на ‘fellowship’, from друг ‘companion, friend’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *dʰrewgʰ- ‘to deceive’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰrewgʰ-1‘to deceive’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Balto-Slavicc. 2000–500 BCE*draugás1‘friend’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Slavicc. 400–900 CE*drugъ1reconstructed
  4. Russianmodernдруг2drug‘companion, friend’
  5. Russianmodernдружи́на2družína‘fellowship’
  6. Englishtodaydruzhina2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Russian друг
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English druzhina

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰrewgʰ-Wiktionary, Russian друг‘to deceive’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Balto-Slavicc. 2000–500 BCE*draugásWiktionary, Russian друг‘friend’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Slavicc. 400–900 CE*drugъWiktionary, Russian другreconstructed
  4. RussianmodernдругWiktionary, English druzhinadrug‘companion, friend’
  5. Russianmodernдружи́наWiktionary, English druzhinadružína‘fellowship’
  6. EnglishtodaydruzhinaWiktionary, English druzhina

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *dʰrewgʰ- ‘to deceive’

dream, drug, fraud, drain, drudge, truculent, 16 more

Today it means

noun A retinue in the service of a chieftain in mediaeval Slavic Europe.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “druzhina”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Russian друг. 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 *dʰrewgʰ- / druzhina

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