duiken (Dutch)
Where does "duiken" come from?
The Dutch verb 'duiken', meaning 'to dive', descends through a well-established chain of Germanic languages[1]. It traces back from Middle Dutch 'duken'[1][2] to Old Dutch '*dūcan'[1][5], which developed from Proto-West Germanic '*dūkan'[1][4] and ultimately Proto-Germanic '*dūkaną'[1][3]. This lineage is also shared by the English verb 'duck'.
Open questions
- The ultimate etymology of Proto-Germanic '*dūkaną' remains unclear, with a possible distant relationship to '*duganą' depending on uncertain pre-Germanic sound changes and semantic shifts. [3]
Full etymology tree
- duiken (Dutch), 'to dive'
- inherited duken (Middle Dutch), 'to dive (go under water)'
- inherited *ducan (Old Dutch), 'to duck, dive'
- inherited *dūkan (Proto-West Germanic), 'to dive, dive under'
- inherited *dūkaną (Proto-Germanic), 'to duck, to dive under'
- inherited *dūkan (Proto-West Germanic), 'to dive, dive under'
- inherited *ducan (Old Dutch), 'to duck, dive'
- inherited duken (Middle Dutch), 'to dive (go under water)'
Ancestors
- duken (Middle Dutch)
- *dūkan (Proto-West Germanic)
- *dūkaną (Proto-Germanic)
Cognates and doublets
- duck (English)
Descendants and derived words
- duik (Afrikaans)
- duik (Afrikaans)
- duik (Dutch)
- duik (Dutch)
- duikboot (Dutch)
- duikbril (Dutch)
- duikeend (Dutch)
- duikelen (Dutch)
- duiker (Dutch)
- duikplank (Dutch)
- duikschool (Dutch)
- duiksport (Dutch)
Sources
- duiken (Dutch) - Wiktionary
- duken (Middle Dutch) - Wiktionary
- dūkaną (Proto-Germanic) - Wiktionary
- dūkan (Proto-West Germanic) - Wiktionary
- ducan (Old Dutch) - Wiktionary
Updated August 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris