Etymology of the English word damsel
the English word
damselderived from the Old French word
dameiselederived from the Old French word
damederived from the Vulgar Latin word
domina (mistress of a family, wife; lady)
derived from the Latin word
dominus (owner, lord, master)
derived from the Proto-Indo-European root
*dem- (house)
derived from the Vulgar Latin root
*dominicelladerived from the Vulgar Latin word
domina (mistress of a family, wife; lady)
derived from the Latin word
dominus (owner, lord, master)
derived from the Proto-Indo-European root
*dem- (house)
Date
The earliest known usage of damsel in English dates from the 13th century.
Derivations in English
damselfish,
damselflyCognates
German
Mamsell, Norwegian
mamsell, Swedish
mamsellUsage
Word found in Modern English
