Etymograph

English

herzog

Herzog comes from German Herzog ‘duke’, from Proto-West Germanic *harjatogō ‘army leader’, and perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *dewk- ‘to pull, to draw’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dewk-1‘to pull, to draw’uncertain
  2. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*togō1reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*harjatogō1‘army leader’reconstructed
  4. Old High Germanc. 750–1050herizogo1‘duke’
  5. Middle High Germanc. 1050–1350herzog1
  6. Germanc. 1650–presentHerzog2‘duke’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1847herzog2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, German Herzog
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English herzog
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1847, Washington M’Cartney, The Origin and Progress of the United States: “Germany had its herzogs and landgrafs, each of whom…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dewk-Wiktionary, German Herzog‘to pull, to draw’uncertain
  2. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*togōWiktionary, German Herzogreconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*harjatogōWiktionary, German Herzog‘army leader’reconstructed
  4. Old High Germanc. 750–1050herizogoWiktionary, German Herzog‘duke’
  5. Middle High Germanc. 1050–1350herzogWiktionary, German Herzog
  6. Germanc. 1650–presentHerzogWiktionary, English herzog‘duke’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1847herzogWiktionary, English herzog. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1847, Washington M’Cartney, The Origin and Progress of the United States: “Germany had its herzogs and landgrafs, each of whom…”

Linked words

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

team, education, production, product, touch, produce, reduce, conduct, introduction, tie, duke, reduction, introduce, toy, educate, tow, induction, tying, dolphin, duct, induce, educator, tuck, duchess, tighten, tug, conn, conducive, seduce, douche, subdue, duchy, taut, duc, redux, doge, transducer, cond, duce, untie, 126 more

Today it means

noun A German duke.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “herzog”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for German Herzog. 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 *dewk- / herzog

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