trek (English)
Where does "trek" come from?
The word 'trek' traces back to the Proto-Indo-European root *dreg-, meaning to drag or scrape. It evolved through Proto-Germanic and Dutch as 'trekken,' eventually entering Afrikaans as 'trek' to describe the arduous journeys of ox wagons. Today, the term has shifted from referring specifically to that historical migration to describing any long or difficult walk.
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 *trecken (Old Dutch)
- inherited *trakkjan (Proto-West Germanic), 'to drag'
- inherited *trakjaną (Proto-Germanic), 'to drag, to pull'
- inherited *dreg- (Proto-Indo-European)
- inherited *trakjaną (Proto-Germanic), 'to drag, to pull'
- inherited *trakkjan (Proto-West Germanic), 'to drag'
- inherited *trecken (Old Dutch)
- inherited treken (Middle Dutch)
- inherited *trekan (Old Dutch)
- inherited *trekan (Proto-West Germanic), 'to push'
- inherited *trekaną (Proto-Germanic), 'to push'
- inherited *dreg- (Proto-Indo-European)
- inherited *trekaną (Proto-Germanic), 'to push'
- inherited *trekan (Proto-West Germanic), 'to push'
- inherited *trekan (Old Dutch)
- inherited trekken (Middle Dutch)
- inherited trekken (Dutch), 'to pull, to draw'
- borrowed trek (Afrikaans), 'to haul'
Direct ancestors
Updated July 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris