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Where does the word "dike" come from? It comes from Middle Dutch dijk, and was adopted directly into English (1600s).
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Where does the word "dike" come from? It comes from Middle Dutch dijk, and was adopted directly into English (1600s).
Dike’s story begins in Middle Dutch: dijk meant “embankment.” The same Germanic root as English 'ditch'; one side dug a ditch, the other piled a bank. It reached English by 1600s as dike. Reinforced by Dutch drainage engineers working in eastern England. Today, dike means a long wall or embankment built to keep out the sea or river floods.
- Stage 1 · Middle Dutch · medieval dijk "embankment", the same Germanic root as English 'ditch'; one side dug a ditch, the other piled a bank.
- Stage 2 · English · 1600s dike "a sea wall or embankment", reinforced by Dutch drainage engineers working in eastern England.