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den

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Pronunciation

Etymology

It is inherited from Old English denn (“wild animal's lair”) (about 725, in Beowulf),[2][3] from *danjan,[2][3][4] related to Old English denu, valley (see dean),[2][4][3] and cognate with Middle Low German denne “lair, valley” and Old High German tenni, threshing floor (German Tenne).[2][4][5] Barnhart and Merriam-Webster connect it with Ancient Greek θέναρ (thénar), palm of the hand, and Sanskrit dhánu-, sandbank, from an Indo-European word for a flat surface.[2][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The lair of a wild beast, about 1000 in the OED's first quotation.[6][4]

Semantic evolution

A cave or hollow place is from before 1300,[6] and a secret haunt, likened to a beast's lair (a den of thieves), from about 1275.[6] A small, squalid room is from 1837,[6] and a small private room where a man can work or relax from 1771,[6] which became the American cozy family room.[2] In Scotland and northern England den means a wooded hollow between hills (1552),[6][7] and in children's games a base or place of safety.[8] The verb, to live in a den, is from the 13th century.[5]

Timeline

  • c. 725 – denn.[2]
  • c. 1275 – a haunt or retreat.[6]
  • 1552 – a wooded dell (Scots).[6]
  • 1771 – a private room.[6]
  • 13th century – to den (verb).[5]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. The shelter of a wild animal; a lair.
  2. A hidden or squalid place where people meet: a den of thieves.
  3. A small room set apart for study, a hobby or relaxation.
  4. A unit of about eight to ten Cub Scouts.
  5. (Scotland) A small wooded valley; a dingle.

Verb

  1. To live or hide in a den.

Word family

  • den mother
  • lion's den

Usage notes

Den in good den, found in Elizabethan drama, is a contraction of good e'en, good evening.[3]

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c d Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)
  8. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins