Etymograph

English

toft

Toft comes from Old Norse toft, from Proto-Germanic *tumþiz ‘seemliness, agreement’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *dem- ‘to build’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dem-1‘to build’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*tumþiz1‘seemliness, agreement’reconstructed
  3. Old Norsec. 800–1350toft1
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1840toft1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English toft
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1840, George Poulson, The History and Antiquities of the Seigniory of Holderness: “Rendering therefore annually to me and my heirs one…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dem-Wiktionary, English toft‘to build’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*tumþizWiktionary, English toft‘seemliness, agreement’reconstructed
  3. Old Norsec. 800–1350toftWiktionary, English toft
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1840toftWiktionary, English toft. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1840, George Poulson, The History and Antiquities of the Seigniory of Holderness: “Rendering therefore annually to me and my heirs one…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *dem- ‘to build’

domestic, don, danger, domain, timber, dominate, donna, domination, dominion, domino, damsel, domicile, despot, dominatrix, domus, teem, 22 more

Today it means

noun A hillock.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “toft”. 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 *dem- / toft

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