*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of donut

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *dʰeyǵʰ- Proto-Indo-European *-os Proto-Indo-European *dʰóyǵʰos Proto-Germanic *daigaz Proto-West Germanic *daig Old English dāg Middle English dogh English dough substrateder. Proto-Ge

1 source sectionExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
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 ↗
noun

Alternative spelling of doughnut.

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

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *dʰeyǵʰ- Proto-Indo-European *-os Proto-Indo-European *dʰóyǵʰos Proto-Germanic *daigaz Proto-West Germanic *daig Old English dāg Middle English dogh English dough substrateder. Proto-Germanic *hnuts Proto-West Germanic *hnut Old English hnutu Middle English note English nut English doughnut English donut Alteration of doughnut, from dough + nut. Attested 1900.

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

  • Word-formation componentdoughen
  • Word-formation componentnuten
Inspect preserved source fields

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

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    {
      "name": "ety",
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        "1": "en",
        "2": ":from",
        "3": "doughnut",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *dʰeyǵʰ-\nProto-Indo-European *-os\nProto-Indo-European *dʰóyǵʰos\nProto-Germanic *daigaz\nProto-West Germanic *daig\nOld English dāg\nMiddle English dogh\nEnglish dough\nsubstrateder.\nProto-Germanic *hnuts\nProto-West Germanic *hnut\nOld English hnutu\nMiddle English note\nEnglish nut\nEnglish doughnut\nEnglish donut\n[Appendix:Glossary#inherited|Inherited]] from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*daigaz\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"gem-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-West Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*daig\", \"status\" : \"inline\", \"lang\" : \"gmw-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Old English\", \"term\" : \"dāg\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"ang\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Middle English\", \"term\" : \"dogh\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"enm\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"dough\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }, { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"nut\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"keyword_abbrev\" : \"der.\", \"keyword_label\" : \"Derived from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"lang_name\" : \"substrate\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"children\" : [ ], \"lang\" : \"qfa-sub\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"derived\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*hnuts\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"gem-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-West Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*hnut\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"gmw-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Old English\", \"term\" : \"hnutu\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"ang\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Middle English\", \"term\" : \"note\", \"lang\" : \"enm\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"nut\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"en\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"is_group\" : true, \"keyword\" : \"affix\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"doughnut\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"en\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"keyword\" : \"from\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"donut\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }\" data-lang=\"en\" data-title=\"donut\">"
    },
    {
      "name": "af",
      "args": {
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        "2": "dough",
        "3": "nut"
      },
      "expansion": "dough + nut"
    },
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      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *dʰeyǵʰ-\nProto-Indo-European *-os\nProto-Indo-European *dʰóyǵʰos\nProto-Germanic *daigaz\nProto-West Germanic *daig\nOld English dāg\nMiddle English dogh\nEnglish dough\nsubstrateder.\nProto-Germanic *hnuts\nProto-West Germanic *hnut\nOld English hnutu\nMiddle English note\nEnglish nut\nEnglish doughnut\nEnglish donut"
    }
  ],
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      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/dʰeyǵʰ-#Proto-Indo-European:_knead"
    ],
    [
      "*-os",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/-os#Proto-Indo-European:_thematic"
    ],
    [
      "*dʰóyǵʰos",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/dʰóyǵʰos"
    ],
    [
      "*daigaz",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/daigaz"
    ],
    [
      "*daig",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/daig"
    ],
    [
      "dāg",
      "dag#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "dogh",
      "dogh#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "dough",
      "dough#English"
    ],
    [
      "*hnuts",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/hnuts"
    ],
    [
      "*hnut",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/hnut"
    ],
    [
      "hnutu",
      "hnutu#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "note",
      "note#Middle_English:_nut"
    ],
    [
      "nut",
      "nut#English"
    ],
    [
      "doughnut",
      "doughnut#English"
    ],
    [
      "doughnut",
      "doughnut#English"
    ],
    [
      "dough",
      "dough#English"
    ],
    [
      "nut",
      "nut#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "Alternative spelling of doughnut."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Australia",
        "Canada",
        "US",
        "alt-of",
        "alternative"
      ],
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      "rawRecordSha256": "12530b93d62f263a3a4b850cd50d0bab8b3c54b61d7830847afb590b25cd72cc",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 244660
    }
  ],
  "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 donut →

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-ZG9udXQ