Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁
Proto-Indo-European *dwi-
Proto-Indo-European *bʰuH-
Proto-Italic *du(i)βwos
Latin *dubosdenom.
Latin dubō
Proto-Indo-European *-tós
Proto-Italic *-tos
Latin -tus
Proto-Indo-European *-h₂
Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂
Proto-Indo-European *-yéti
Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti
Proto-Indo-European *-h₂tiinflu.
Proto-Italic *-ājō
Proto-Italic *-āō
Latin -ō
Latin -tō
Latin -itō
?
Latin dubitō
Old French doterbor.
Middle English douten
▲
Old French doter
Old French doutebor.
Middle English doute
▲
English dubiousinflu.
▲
Latin dubitōinflu.
English doubt
The verb is derived from Middle English douten (“to doubt, fear, worry”) [and other forms], from Old French douter, doter, duter (compare Middle French doubter), from Latin dubitāre (“to be uncertain, doubt; to hesitate, waver in coming to an opinion; to consider, ponder”); the further etymology is uncertain, but one theory is that dubitō may be derived from dubius (“fluctuating, wavering; doubtful, dubious, uncertain”), from duhibius (“held as two”), from duo (“two”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁ (“two”)) + habeō (“to have, hold”) (possibly ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gʰeh₁bʰ- (“to grab, take”)). Spelling reformers of the early modern period added the letter b to reflect the Latin root dubitō, but it has never been pronounced in English.
The noun is derived from Middle English dout, doute (“uncertainty, hesitation; questionable point; anxiety, fear, reverence”) [and other forms],
from Old French doute, dote, dute (“uncertain feeling, doubt”), from doter, douter, duter (“to doubt, fear”) (compare Middle French doubter; modern French douter (“to doubt, suspect”)); see further etymology above.
The ESL "question" sense is a semantic loan from Romance cognates: Portuguese dúvida, Spanish duda, Catalan dubte, French doute, Italian dubbio and others, which can all mean "question".
Displaced Old English twēo (“doubt”) and twēoġan (“to doubt”).
This page abbreviates 1 auxiliary source items. The etymology narrative is not shortened. Omission counts are available in the audit fields below; consult the original for complete auxiliary material.
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": "*gʰeh₁bʰ-"
},
"expansion": ""
},
{
"name": "etymon",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": ":inh",
"3": "enm:douten<id:to doubt>",
"4": "enm:doute<id:doubt>",
"5": ":influence",
"6": "dubious<id:questionable>",
"7": "la:dubitō<id:to doubt>",
"id": "to hesitate",
"tree": "1"
},
"expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *dwóh₁\nProto-Indo-European *dwi-\nProto-Indo-European *bʰuH-\nProto-Italic *du(i)βwos\nLatin *dubosdenom.\nLatin dubō\nProto-Indo-European *-tós\nProto-Italic *-tos\nLatin -tus\nProto-Indo-European *-h₂\nProto-Indo-European *-éh₂\nProto-Indo-European *-yéti\nProto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti\nProto-Indo-European *-h₂tiinflu.\nProto-Italic *-ājō\nProto-Italic *-āō\nLatin -ō\nLatin -tō\nLatin -itō\n?\nLatin dubitō\nOld French doterbor.\nMiddle English douten\n▲\nOld French doter\nOld French doutebor.\nMiddle English doute\n▲\nEnglish dubiousinflu.\n▲\nLatin dubitōinflu.\nEnglish doubt\n[Appendix:Glossary#loanword|Borrowed]] from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"to doubt\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"to doubt\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"keyword_abbrev\" : \"denom.\", \"keyword_label\" : \"Denominal verb from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"gloss\" : \"in doubt\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"two\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"two\", \"children\" : [ ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*dwóh₁\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"keyword\" : \"from\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*dwi-\", \"gloss\" : \"two\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" }, { \"id\" : \"be\", \"children\" : [ ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*bʰuH-\", \"gloss\" : \"to be\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"is_group\" : true, \"keyword\" : \"affix\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Italic\", \"term\" : \"*du(i)βwos\", \"status\" : \"inline\", \"lang\" : \"itc-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Latin\", \"term\" : \"*dubos\", \"status\" : \"inline\", \"lang\" : \"la\", \"pos\" : \"adj\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"denominal\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Latin\", \"term\" : \"dubō\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"la\" }, { \"id\" : \"frequentative\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"past participle\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"verbal adjectives\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"verbal adjectives\", \"children\" : [ ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*-tós\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Italic\", \"term\" : \"*-tos\", \"lang\" : \"itc-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Latin\", \"term\" : \"-tus\", \"lang\" : \"la\" }, { \"id\" : \"denominative\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"suf\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"alt\" : \"*-ājō\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Italic\", \"status\" : \"inline\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"suf\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"collective nouns\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"collective nouns\", \"children\" : [ ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*-h₂\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\", \"pos\" : \"suffix originally used to form collective nouns, extended in Late PIE to also be a marker of feminine gender\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"keyword\" : \"from\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*-éh₂\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" }, { \"id\" : \"intransitive verbs\", \"children\" : [ ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*-yéti\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"is_group\" : true, \"keyword\" : \"affix\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*-eh₂yéti\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" }, { \"keyword_abbrev\" : \"influ.\", \"keyword_label\" : \"Influenced by\", \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*-h₂ti\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"influence\" } ], \"lang\" : \"itc-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"keyword\" : \"from\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Italic\", \"term\" : \"*-āō\", \"lang\" : \"itc-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Latin\", \"term\" : \"-ō\", \"lang\" : \"la\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"keyword\" : \"from\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Latin\", \"term\" : \"-tō\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"la\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"keyword\" : \"from\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Latin\", \"term\" : \"-itō\", \"lang\" : \"la\" } ], \"is_uncertain\" : true, \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"is_group\" : true, \"keyword\" : \"affix\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Latin\", \"term\" : \"dubitō\", \"lang\" : \"la\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Old French\", \"term\" : \"doter\", \"lang\" : \"fro\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"bor\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Middle English\", \"term\" : \"douten\", \"lang\" : \"enm\" }, { \"id\" : \"doubt\", \"children\" : [ { \"keyword_abbrev\" : \"bor.\", \"keyword_label\" : \"Borrowed from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"doubt\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"is_duplicate\" : true, \"children\" : [ ], \"id\" : \"to doubt\", \"status\" : { \"1\" : \"fro\", \"2\" : \":inh\", \"3\" : \"la:dubitō<id:to doubt>\", \"id\" : \"to doubt\" }, \"lang_name\" : \"Old French\", \"term\" : \"doter\", \"lang\" : \"fro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"keyword\" : \"from\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Old French\", \"term\" : \"doute\", \"lang\" : \"fro\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"bor\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Middle English\", \"term\" : \"doute\", \"lang\" : \"enm\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" }, { \"keyword_abbrev\" : \"influ.\", \"keyword_label\" : \"Influenced by\", \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"questionable\", \"children\" : [ ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"dubious\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }, { \"is_duplicate\" : true, \"children\" : [ ], \"id\" : \"to doubt\", \"status\" : { \"1\" : \"la\", \"2\" : \":af<unc>\", \"3\" : \"dubō\", \"4\" : \"-itō<id:frequentative>\", \"id\" : \"to doubt\", \"title\" : \"dubitō\" }, \"lang_name\" : \"Latin\", \"term\" : \"dubitō\", \"lang\" : \"la\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"influence\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"doubt\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }\" data-id=\"to hesitate\" data-lang=\"en\" data-title=\"doubt\" id=\"English:_to_hesitate\">"
},
{
"name": "inh",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "enm",
"3": "douten",
"t": "to doubt, fear, worry"
},
"expansion": "Middle English douten (“to doubt, fear, worry”)"
},
{
"name": "nb...",
"args": {
"1": "doubt, doubten, dought, doughten, douti, douʒte, dut, duten, duti",
"otherforms": "1"
},
"expansion": "[and other forms]"
},
{
"name": "der",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "fro",
"3": "douter"
},
"expansion": "Old French douter"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "frm",
"2": "doubter"
},
"expansion": "Middle French doubter"
},
{
"name": "der",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "la",
"3": "dubitō",
"4": "dubitāre",
"t": "to be uncertain, doubt; to hesitate, waver in coming to an opinion; to consider, ponder"
},
"expansion": "Latin dubitāre (“to be uncertain, doubt; to hesitate, waver in coming to an opinion; to consider, ponder”)"
},
{
"name": "der",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "ine-pro",
"3": "*dwóh₁",
"t": "two"
},
"expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁ (“two”)"
},
{
"name": "der",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "ine-pro",
"3": "*gʰeh₁bʰ-",
"t": "to grab, take"
},
"expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *gʰeh₁bʰ- (“to grab, take”)"
},
{
"name": "inh",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "enm",
"3": "dout"
},
"expansion": "Middle English dout"
},
{
"name": "nb...",
"args": {
"1": "dewt, dote, doubt, doubte, dought, doughte, douthe, douʒte, douȝt, douȝte, dowght, dowt, dowte, dut, dute",
"otherforms": "1"
},
"expansion": "[and other forms]"
},
{
"name": "der",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "fro",
"3": "doute"
},
"expansion": "Old French doute"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "frm",
"2": "doubter"
},
"expansion": "Middle French doubter"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "fr",
"2": "douter",
"t": "to doubt, suspect"
},
"expansion": "French douter (“to doubt, suspect”)"
},
{
"name": "sup",
"args": {
"1": "1"
},
"expansion": "¹"
},
{
"name": "lg",
"args": {
"1": "semantic loan"
},
"expansion": "semantic loan"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "pt",
"2": "dúvida"
},
"expansion": "Portuguese dúvida"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "es",
"2": "duda"
},
"expansion": "Spanish duda"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "ca",
"2": "dubte"
},
"expansion": "Catalan dubte"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "fr",
"2": "doute"
},
"expansion": "French doute"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "it",
"2": "dubbio"
},
"expansion": "Italian dubbio"
},
{
"name": "noncog",
"args": {
"1": "ang",
"2": "twēo",
"3": "",
"4": "doubt"
},
"expansion": "Old English twēo (“doubt”)"
},
{
"name": "etymon",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": ":inh",
"3": "enm:douten<id:to doubt>",
"4": "enm:doute<id:doubt>",
"5": ":influence",
"6": "dubious<id:questionable>",
"7": "la:dubitō<id:to doubt>",
"id": "to hesitate",
"tree": "1"
},
"expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *dwóh₁\nProto-Indo-European *dwi-\nProto-Indo-European *bʰuH-\nProto-Italic *du(i)βwos\nLatin *dubosdenom.\nLatin dubō\nProto-Indo-European *-tós\nProto-Italic *-tos\nLatin -tus\nProto-Indo-European *-h₂\nProto-Indo-European *-éh₂\nProto-Indo-European *-yéti\nProto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti\nProto-Indo-European *-h₂tiinflu.\nProto-Italic *-ājō\nProto-Italic *-āō\nLatin -ō\nLatin -tō\nLatin -itō\n?\nLatin dubitō\nOld French doterbor.\nMiddle English douten\n▲\nOld French doter\nOld French doutebor.\nMiddle English doute\n▲\nEnglish dubiousinflu.\n▲\nLatin dubitōinflu.\nEnglish doubt"
}
],
"links": [
[
"*dwóh₁",
"Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/dwóh₁#Proto-Indo-European:_two"
],
[
"*dwi-",
"Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/dwi-#Proto-Indo-European:_two"
],
[
"*bʰuH-",
"Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/bʰuH-#Proto-Indo-European:_be"
],
[
"*du(i)βwos",
"Reconstruction:Proto-Italic/du(i)βwos"
],
[
"*dubos",
"Reconstruction:Latin/dubos"
],
[
"dubō",
"dubo#Latin"
],
[
"*-tós",
"Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/-tós#Proto-Indo-European:_verbal_adjectives"
],
[
"*-tos",
"Reconstruction:Proto-Italic/-tos#Proto-Italic:_verbal_adjectives"
],
[
"-tus",
"-tus#Latin:_past_participle"
],
[
"*-h₂",
"Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/-h₂#Proto-Indo-European:_collective_nouns"
],
[
"*-éh₂",
"Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/-éh₂#Proto-Indo-European:_collective_nouns"
],
[
"*-yéti",
"Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/-yéti#Proto-Indo-European:_intransitive_verbs"
],
[
"*-eh₂yéti",
"Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/-eh₂yéti#Proto-Indo-European:_suf"
],
[
"*-h₂ti",
"Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/-h₂ti"
],
[
"*-āō",
"Reconstruction:Proto-Italic/-āō#Proto-Italic:_suf"
],
[
"-ō",
"-o#Latin:_denominative"
],
[
"-tō",
"-to#Latin"
],
[
"-itō",
"-ito#Latin:_frequentative"
],
[
"dubitō",
"dubito#Latin:_to_doubt"
],
[
"doter",
"doter#Old_French:_to_doubt"
],
[
"douten",
"douten#Middle_English:_to_doubt"
],
[
"doter",
"doter#Old_French:_to_doubt"
],
[
"doute",
"doute#Old_French:_doubt"
],
[
"doute",
"doute#Middle_English:_doubt"
],
[
"dubious",
"dubious#English:_questionable"
],
[
"dubitō",
"dubito#Latin:_to_doubt"
],
[
"douten",
"douten#Middle_English"
],
[
"douter",
"douter#Old_French"
],
[
"doter",
"doter#Old_French"
],
[
"duter",
"duter#Old_French"
],
[
"doubter",
"doubter#Middle_French"
],
[
"dubitāre",
"dubito#Latin"
],
[
"dubius",
"dubius#Latin"
],
[
"duhibius",
"duhibius#Latin"
],
[
"duo",
"duo#Latin"
],
[
"*dwóh₁",
"Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/dwóh₁"
],
[
"habeō",
"habeo#Latin"
],
[
"*gʰeh₁bʰ-",
"Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/gʰeh₁bʰ-"
],
[
"b",
"b#English"
],
[
"dout",
"dout#Middle_English"
],
[
"doute",
"doute#Middle_English"
],
[
"doute",
"doute#Old_French"
],
[
"dote",
"dote#Old_French"
],
[
"dute",
"dute#Old_French"
],
[
"doter",
"doter#Old_French"
],
[
"douter",
"douter#Old_French"
],
[
"duter",
"duter#Old_French"
],
[
"doubter",
"doubter#Middle_French"
],
[
"douter",
"douter#French"
],
[
"Romance",
"Romance"
],
[
"dúvida",
"dúvida#Portuguese"
],
[
"duda",
"duda#Spanish"
],
[
"dubte",
"dubte#Catalan"
],
[
"doute",
"doute#French"
],
[
"dubbio",
"dubbio#Italian"
],
[
"twēo",
"tweo#Old_English"
],
[
"twēoġan",
"tweogan#Old_English"
]
],
"references": [],
"descendants": [],
"lexical": [
{
"pos": "noun",
"glosses": [
"Disbelief or uncertainty (about something); (countable) a particular instance of such disbelief or uncertainty.",
"A point of uncertainty, especially a yes/no or a multiple-choice question",
"a question (that one has)"
],
"tags": [
"countable",
"uncountable"
],
"recordId": "254374bb49807dc5fb5f259b71ca3a4ccc1fb0a6e5413b3bf9561bc0454bcf3b",
"rawRecordSha256": "a0a5f995b113e0f78723ac5e75fa433fd5facb76747af62ade5c99de6128b015",
"sourceRecordOrdinal": 36737
},
{
"pos": "verb",
"glosses": [
"To consider questionable or unlikely; to hesitate to believe; to lack confidence in; to question.",
"To harbour suspicion about; suspect.",
"To anticipate with dread or fear; to apprehend.",
"To fill with fear; to affright."
],
"tags": [
"ambitransitive",
"transitive",
"archaic",
"obsolete"
],
"recordId": "370f6b20cc387eb655f8c98ac129916c965ad474888b0cd1d49850f192243908",
"rawRecordSha256": "b354a437225451bf4ecc7d5ebbd1e80061a18e63caa8ed920b1df4fc37ab65a8",
"sourceRecordOrdinal": 36736
}
],
"omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
"templates": 0,
"links": 0,
"references": 0,
"descendants": 0,
"lexicalRecords": 0,
"lexicalSenses": 1,
"glosses": 0
}
}