*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of dent

From Middle English dent, dente, dint (“a blow; strike; dent”), from Old English dynt (“blow, strike, the mark or noise of a blow”), from Proto-Germanic *duntiz (“a blow”). Akin to Old Norse dyntr (“dint”). Doublet of di

2 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 2 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.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗
noun

A shallow deformation in the surface of an object, produced by an impact. · A minor effect made upon something. · A type of maize/corn with a relatively soft outer hull, and a soft type of starch that shrinks at maturity to leave an indentation in the surface of the kernel. · A sudden negative change, such as loss, damage, weakening, consumption or diminution, especially one produced by an external force, event or action

verb

To impact something, producing a dent. · To develop a dent or dents.

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

From Middle English dent, dente, dint (“a blow; strike; dent”), from Old English dynt (“blow, strike, the mark or noise of a blow”), from Proto-Germanic *duntiz (“a blow”). Akin to Old Norse dyntr (“dint”). Doublet of dint.

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

  • Inherited-form mentiondentenm
  • Inherited-form mentiondyntang
  • Inherited-form mention*duntizgem-pro
  • Cognate mentiondyntrnon
  • Doublet mentiondinten
Inspect preserved source fields

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

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      "expansion": "Middle English dent"
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        "2": "ang",
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        "4": "",
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    },
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      "dint#Middle_English"
    ],
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      "dynt#Old_English"
    ],
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    ],
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      "dyntr#Old_Norse"
    ],
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        "A shallow deformation in the surface of an object, produced by an impact.",
        "A minor effect made upon something.",
        "A type of maize/corn with a relatively soft outer hull, and a soft type of starch that shrinks at maturity to leave an indentation in the surface of the kernel.",
        "A sudden negative change, such as loss, damage, weakening, consumption or diminution, especially one produced by an external force, event or action"
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}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
noun

A tooth, as of a card, a gear wheel, etc. · A slot or a wire in a reed.

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

From French dent, from Latin dēns, dentis (“tooth”). Doublet of dens and tooth.

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

  • Borrowed-form mentiondentfr
  • Derivation mentiondēnsla
  • Doublet mentiondensen
  • Doublet mentiontoothen
Inspect preserved source fields

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

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      "expansion": "Latin dēns"
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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 dent →

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-ZGVudA