Etymologically
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due

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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
  • 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