due

Pronunciation

• IPA: UK /dʒuː/, /djuː/, US /duː/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English dewe, borrowed from Old French deü (“owed”), the past participle of devoir (“to owe”),^[2][3] from a Romance form of Latin dēbitus, past participle of dēbēre (“to owe”),^[4][5][6] which was originally “to keep something away from someone”, from dē- (“away”) and habēre (“to have”),^[2] from Proto-Indo-European *ghabh- (“to give or receive”).^[2][7] It is related to debt and debit.^[3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Customary, regular, suitable, owed as a duty: probably about 1350, in the form dewe.^[3][2]

Semantic evolution

“Owed, payable” is from the late 14th century,^[2] as are “conscientious, careful” of actions and in due time.^[2] Due to meant “deserved by” and “owing to” in the early 15th century, and “attributable to” from the 1660s;^[2] its use as a compound preposition, as in cancelled due to rain, is found by 1897 and has been much criticized by grammarians.^[2] The noun, “that which is owed”, is from 1423–24,^[3] and dues, fees or charges, are recorded from 1423.^[8] Give the devil his due is from the 1590s.^[2] Shakespeare used the adverb for “duly” in 1597 and for “directly” in 1601,^[3] and due east was first a nautical phrase, from about 1600.^[2] “Expected to arrive” is from 1833.^[2]

Timeline

• c. 1350 – customary, proper.^[3]
• late 14th century – owed, payable, and in due time.^[2]
• 1423–24 – noun, that which is owed.^[3]
• early 15th century – due to, deserved by.^[2]
• 1590s – give the devil his due.^[2]
• 1597 – adverb, duly (Shakespeare).^[3]
• c. 1600 – due east.^[2]
• 1660s – due to, attributable to.^[2]
• 1833 – expected to arrive.^[2]

Modern meaning

Adjective

1. Owed as a debt; payable now or on demand.
2. Proper, appropriate; sufficient: with due care.
3. Expected or scheduled to arrive or happen.
4. (with to) Caused by; attributable to.

Noun

1. Something owed or deserved: give him his due.
2. (plural) A fee for membership.

Adverb

1. Directly, exactly: due north.

Word family

• dueness
• duly
• undue
• overdue
• due process
• due to
• due diligence
• due process of law

Related words

• debt
• debit
• duty
• owe

Usage notes

A separate obsolete verb due, “to endow”, came from French douer.^[4][9]

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 h i j k l m n o p q Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ Soanes, Catherine; Stevenson, Angus, eds. (2004), Concise Oxford English Dictionary, 11th ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (2000), 4th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
8. ^ Kay, Christian; Roberts, Jane; Samuels, Michael; Wotherspoon, Irené, eds. (2009), Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford: Oxford University Press; online edition (2024)
9. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster