trek (English)

Where does "trek" come from?

The English word 'trek' entered the language from Afrikaans 'trek'[1][3]. This term originated from the Dutch verb 'trekken', meaning to pull or move[1][3]. Tracing the history further back, the word stems from Middle Dutch 'trekken'[1] and Old Dutch '*trekkan'[1], which are rooted in the Proto-West Germanic '*trekan' and the Proto-Germanic '*trekaną'[1][4]. Ultimately, the word finds its origin in the Proto-Indo-European '*dreg-', which carried the sense of 'to drag' or 'to scrape'[1][5]. Over time, the meaning shifted from a physical act of hauling or dragging to signify a long or difficult journey, reflecting its association with the historical Boer migrations[1].

Open questions

The derivation of the word relies on the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European form '*dreg-', which is an unattested root. [1] [5]
There are competing or variant reconstructions for the Proto-Germanic and Old Dutch stages such as '*trakjaną' and '*trakkjan' alongside the primary forms. [2] [6] [7] [8]

Full etymology tree

trek (English), 'A journey by ox wagon.'
- borrowed trek (Afrikaans), 'to haul'
  - inherited trekken (Dutch), 'to pull, to draw'
    - inherited trekken (Middle Dutch)
      - inherited *trekkan (Old Dutch)
        inherited *trekan (Proto-West Germanic), 'to push'
        inherited *trekaną (Proto-Germanic), 'to push'
        inherited *dreg- (Proto-Indo-European)
        inherited *trakkjan (Proto-West Germanic), 'to drag'
        inherited *trakjaną (Proto-Germanic), 'to drag, to pull'
        derived *trekaną (Proto-Germanic), 'to push'
        inherited *dreg- (Proto-Indo-European)
        suffix *-janą (Proto-Germanic), 'Derives denominatives from nouns and factitives from adjectives.'

Ancestors

trek (Afrikaans)
trekken (Dutch)
*trekan (Proto-West Germanic)
*trekaną (Proto-Germanic)

Sources

Updated August 2026

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Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris