*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of adroit

Borrowed from French adroit, from French à (“on the; to”) (from Old French a (“to; towards”), from Latin ad (“to; towards”), from Proto-Indo-European *ád (“at; near”)) + French droit (“right”) (from Old French droit, dre

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In this entry · 1 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗
adj

deft, dexterous, or skillful

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Borrowed from French adroit, from French à (“on the; to”) (from Old French a (“to; towards”), from Latin ad (“to; towards”), from Proto-Indo-European *ád (“at; near”)) + French droit (“right”) (from Old French droit, dreit, from Late Latin drictus, syncopated form of Latin dīrēctus (“laid straight; direct, straight; level; upright”), perfective passive participle of dīrigō (“to lay straight”), from dis- (“apart, in two”) (from Proto-Indo-European *dwís (“twice; in two”)) + regō (“to govern, rule; to guide, steer”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₃réǵeti (“to be straightening, setting upright”))).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "root",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*h₃reǵ-"
      },
      "expansion": ""
    },
    {
      "name": "bor",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "fr",
        "3": "adroit"
      },
      "expansion": "French adroit"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "fr",
        "3": "à",
        "4": "",
        "5": "on the; to"
      },
      "expansion": "French à (“on the; to”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "fro",
        "3": "a",
        "4": "",
        "5": "to; towards"
      },
      "expansion": "Old French a (“to; towards”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la",
        "3": "ad",
        "4": "",
        "5": "to; towards"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin ad (“to; towards”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*ád",
        "4": "",
        "5": "at; near"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *ád (“at; near”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "fr",
        "3": "droit",
        "4": "",
        "5": "right"
      },
      "expansion": "French droit (“right”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "fro",
        "3": "droit"
      },
      "expansion": "Old French droit"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la-lat",
        "3": "drictus"
      },
      "expansion": "Late Latin drictus"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la",
        "3": "dīrēctus",
        "4": "",
        "5": "laid straight; direct, straight; level; upright"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin dīrēctus (“laid straight; direct, straight; level; upright”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*dwís",
        "4": "",
        "5": "twice; in two"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *dwís (“twice; in two”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*h₃réǵeti",
        "4": "",
        "5": "to be straightening, setting upright"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *h₃réǵeti (“to be straightening, setting upright”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "adroit",
      "adroit#French"
    ],
    [
      "à",
      "à#French"
    ],
    [
      "to",
      "to"
    ],
    [
      "a",
      "a/languages M to Z#Old_French"
    ],
    [
      "towards",
      "towards"
    ],
    [
      "ad",
      "ad#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "*ád",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/ád"
    ],
    [
      "at",
      "at"
    ],
    [
      "near",
      "near"
    ],
    [
      "droit",
      "droit#French"
    ],
    [
      "right",
      "right#Noun"
    ],
    [
      "droit",
      "droit#Old_French"
    ],
    [
      "dreit",
      "dreit#Old_French"
    ],
    [
      "drictus",
      "drictus#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "dīrēctus",
      "directus#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "straight",
      "straight#Adjective"
    ],
    [
      "direct",
      "direct#Adjective"
    ],
    [
      "level",
      "level#Adjective"
    ],
    [
      "upright",
      "upright#Adjective"
    ],
    [
      "dīrigō",
      "dirigo#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "dis-",
      "dis-#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "apart",
      "apart"
    ],
    [
      "two",
      "two"
    ],
    [
      "*dwís",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/dwís"
    ],
    [
      "twice",
      "twice"
    ],
    [
      "regō",
      "rego#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "govern",
      "govern"
    ],
    [
      "rule",
      "rule#Verb"
    ],
    [
      "guide",
      "guide#Verb"
    ],
    [
      "steer",
      "steer#Verb"
    ],
    [
      "*h₃réǵeti",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₃réǵeti"
    ],
    [
      "straightening",
      "straightening"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "adj",
      "glosses": [
        "deft, dexterous, or skillful"
      ],
      "tags": [],
      "recordId": "622e95220b1f36c74de72d3138be56d03da964e3b6a9a15d39f4dfdd67c08067",
      "rawRecordSha256": "b111fb0e5e8b8f54cafd5e4abfcdb1fa832809fbc9971c9b896f234a069bbe55",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 15252
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for adroit →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-YWRyb2l0