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depth

Etymology and origin of the English word depth

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
a. 1382

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /depθ/[1]

Etymology

It is Middle English depthe,[2] formed from dēp, deep, and the suffix -th, on the pattern of long and length, broad and breadth.[3][4][5] The word is not recorded in Old English, but the formation existed in Proto-Germanic *deupiþō,[3][2] which gave Old Saxon diupitha, Dutch diepte, Old Norse dypð and Gothic diupiþa.[3][2] It replaced the older deepness.[3][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Before 1382 in Barnhart, in the Wycliffe Bible;[2] a deep place, deep water, and distance from the top down: the late 14th century in Etymonline,[3] 1393 in the OED.[7]

Semantic evolution

The innermost part of anything, as the depths of the forest, is from about 1400.[3] The quality of being deep is from the 1520s (1526 in the OED).[3][7] Figuratively, profundity of thought is from the 1580s,[3][7] of feelings, intensity, from 1596,[7] and of colour or darkness from 1624.[7] Measurement from front to back is from 1664.[7] In depth, thoroughly, is from 1959, hence in-depth.[7]

Timeline

  • a. 1382 – first recorded.[2]
  • 1393 – distance downward.[7]
  • c. 1400 – the innermost part.[3]
  • 1526 – the quality of being deep.[7]
  • 1580s – profundity.[3]
  • 1664 – measurement from front to back.[7]
  • 1959 – in depth.[7]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. The distance from the top down, or from the front to the back.
  2. The quality of being deep.
  3. Intellectual or emotional profundity: a novel of great depth.
  4. Intensity, as of colour or feeling.
  5. the depths: the deepest or innermost part, or the lowest or worst state: the depths of despair.
  6. The sense of distance in a picture or image; perspective.

Word family

  • depthless
  • in-depth
  • depth charge
  • depth of field
  • depth perception
  • depth psychology
  • depth sounder

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 Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
Cite this entry

“Depth.” Etymologically, 15 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/depth. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·