English
turd
Turd comes from Old English tord ‘piece of dung, excrement, filth’, from Proto-Germanic *turdą ‘manure, mud’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *der- ‘to split, flay’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*der-1‘to split, flay’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*turdą1‘manure, mud’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*tord1‘dung, excrement’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150tord1‘piece of dung, excrement, filth’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500toord1
- Englishearliest quotation 1658turd1
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English turd
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1658, John Mennes; James Smith, A Poeticall Poem, by Mr. Stephen Locket to Mistrisse Bess Sa: “Thy teeth more comely than two dirty rakes are,…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*der-Wiktionary, English turd‘to split, flay’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*turdąWiktionary, English turd‘manure, mud’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*tordWiktionary, English turd‘dung, excrement’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150tordWiktionary, English turd‘piece of dung, excrement, filth’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500toordWiktionary, English turd
- Englishearliest quotation 1658turdWiktionary, English turd. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1658, John Mennes; James Smith, A Poeticall Poem, by Mr. Stephen Locket to Mistrisse Bess Sa: “Thy teeth more comely than two dirty rakes are,…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *der- ‘to split, flay’
truck, tear, tart, dermatology, dermatitis, tirade, pander, tarn, dermis, derm, 16 more
Today it means
noun A piece of solid feces.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “turd”. 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 *der- / turd