dip

Pronunciation

• IPA: /dɪp/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English dippen, inherited from Old English dyppan (“to plunge into water, baptize by immersion”),^[2][3][4] from Proto-Germanic *dupjanan,^[2] related to Old English dīepan, to immerse (Proto-Germanic *daupijanan),^[2][3] and probably a causative of the root of deep.^[3][4] Cognates include Old Norse deypa, Dutch dopen, German taufen (“to baptize”) and Gothic 𐌳𐌰𐌿𐍀𐌾𐌰𐌽 (daupjan).^[3][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

To baptize by immersion: about 975;^[5][2] to put down briefly into a liquid: about 1000.^[5]

Semantic evolution

To dip in a colouring solution, to dye, is from 1667,^[5] to make candles by dipping from 1712,^[5] and to dip sheep from 1840.^[5] To go down or sink is from the 14th century,^[4] to incline downward from the 1660s,^[3] and to lower and raise a flag from 1776.^[3] The noun, an act of dipping, is from the 1590s,^[3][6] a downward slope by 1708,^[3] and a liquid into which something is dipped by 1825,^[3] while a thick savoury sauce for raw vegetables (by 1962) is probably a new coinage.^[3]

Timeline

• c. 975 – to baptize.^[5]
• c. 1000 – to immerse.^[5]
• 1590s – an act of dipping (noun).^[3]
• 1667 – to dye.^[5]
• 1708 – a downward slope.^[3]
• 1776 – to dip a flag.^[3]
• 1962 – a savoury dip.^[3]

Modern meaning

Verb

1. To plunge briefly into a liquid, as to wet or coat.
2. To immerse animals in a disinfecting solution.
3. To lower and raise a flag in salute, or to lower headlights.
4. To drop or decline, usually slightly or briefly: sales dipped.
5. To slope downward.
6. To put a hand or container into something to take something out.

Noun

1. A brief plunge or swim.
2. A savoury mixture into which food is dipped.
3. A downward slope or drop.
4. A liquid into which something is dipped, as for dyeing or disinfecting.

Word family

• dippable
• double-dip
• sheep-dip
• dipstick
• dipper
• redip
• dipshit
• lucky dip

Related words

• deep
• baptize

Usage notes

Dip, a stupid or eccentric person, is 1920s slang, perhaps a back-formation from dippy.^[3][7]

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
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 k l m n o Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b c d e f g h Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster