Etymograph

English

trough

Trough comes from Middle English trogh ‘a trough’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *dóru ‘tree’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dóru1‘tree’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*drukós1reconstructedenlargement of *dóru
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*trugą1reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*trog1reconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150troh1‘a trough, tub, basin, vessel for containing liquids or other materials’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500trogh1‘a trough’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1961trough1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English trough
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1961, Talking of Trains: The North Eastern's new rail-mounted pili: “Now, covered concrete troughs to house the cables are…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dóruWiktionary, English trough‘tree’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*drukósWiktionary, English troughreconstructedenlargement of *dóru
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*trugąWiktionary, English troughreconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*trogWiktionary, English troughreconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150trohWiktionary, English trough‘a trough, tub, basin, vessel for containing liquids or other materials’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500troghWiktionary, English trough‘a trough’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1961troughWiktionary, English trough. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1961, Talking of Trains: The North Eastern's new rail-mounted pili: “Now, covered concrete troughs to house the cables are…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *dóru ‘tree’

tree, dory, druid, dendritic, dinghy, larch, dendrite, 5 more

Today it means

noun A long, narrow container, open on top, for feeding or watering animals.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “trough”. 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 *dóru / trough

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