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drake

Etymology and origin of the English word drake

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Drake, a male duck, is a Germanic word of obscure origin; drake, a mayfly used as bait, goes back to Old English draca, dragon, from Latin dracō.[1][2][3]

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /dreɪk/[4]

drake1 male duck

Confidence
Uncertain
Formation
Inherited
First attested
c. 1300
Ultimate origin
Proto-West Germanic (*drakō)

Etymology

It is unrecorded in Old English, though it may have existed,[2] and corresponds to Low German drake and the second element of Old High German anutrehho (German Enterich), from West Germanic *drakō.[1][2][5] Hoad calls it of obscure origin.[3] The first part of the Old High German word is anut, duck, cognate with Latin anas and Ancient Greek νῆττα (nêtta), duck.[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

A male duck: about 1300, in Havelok the Dane.[1][2]

Semantic evolution

Collins defines it as the male of any duck.[6]

Timeline

  • c. 1300 – a male duck.[1][2]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A male duck.

drake2 dragon, mayfly

Confidence
Established
Formation
Inherited
First attested
before 1000
Inherited from
Old English draca
Ultimate origin
Latin (draco)

Etymology

It is inherited from Old English draca (“dragon, sea monster”),[2][3][7] an early West Germanic borrowing of Latin dracō (see dragon).[2][3][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

A dragon: before 1000.[8]

Semantic evolution

A fiery meteor was a drake from about 1205,[8] and a kind of small cannon from 1625.[8][3] Anglers have called a mayfly or an artificial fly like it a drake since the 17th century.[3][6]

Timeline

  • before 1000 – a dragon.[8]
  • 1625 – a small cannon.[8]
  • 17th century – a mayfly (angling).[3]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. (angling) A mayfly, or an artificial fly made to look like one.
  2. (history) A small cannon.
  3. (obsolete) A dragon.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  4. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  5. ^ a b Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
  7. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  8. ^ a b c d e Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press

Related etymologies

  • rough · also from Old English
  • bush · also from Old English
  • pride · also from Old English
  • earn · also from Old English
  • sharp · also from Old English
  • rush · also from Old English
  • meal · also from Old English
  • finger · also from Old English
Cite this entry

“Drake.” Etymologically, 17 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/drake. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

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