region in Sudan, named for its people, from Arabic dar, literally "house" + Fur, ethnic name of the indigenous African population.
name of three Persian rulers, notably Darius the Great, Persian emperor 521-485 B.C.E., from Greek Darius, from Old Persian Darayavaus, probably literally "he who holds firm the good," from PIE root *dher- "to hold firmly, support."
town in Devon, England, named for its situation at the mouth of the Dart River, which is perhaps from a Celtic word for "oak."
surname attested from 12c., from Old English deorwine, literally "dear friend," probably used as a given name and also the source of the masc. proper name Derwin.
masc. proper name, in Old Testament name of the second king of Israel and Judah and author of psalms, from Hebrew Dawidh, literally "darling, beloved friend." The name was common in England and Scotland by 12c. but was popular much earlier in Wales. A nickname form was Dawe, hence surnames Dawson, Dawkins. A top 10 name for boys born in the U.S. from 1934 to 1992. Related: Davidic; Davidian.
1951, proprietary name (Dane & Co. of London) for a brand of fluorescent paint. As an adjective, with reference to colors and patterns, by 1959.
abbreviation of District of Columbia, apparently not widely used before 1820, but eventually it became necessary to distinguish the place from the many other "Washingtons" in America. The city and the district were named in 1791 (at first known as Territory of Columbia; the territory was organized as a "district" in 1801), but the towns within it (Washington, Georgetown, Alexandria) remained separate municipalities and at one time all took D.C. The district was effectively organized as a unitary municipality in 1871.
"the 130th Psalm" (one of the seven penitential psalms), so called for its opening words in Latin, literally "out of the depths (have I cried)." From ablative plural of profundum (see profound).
fem. proper name, prophetess and judge in the Old Testament, Hebrew, literally "bee" (thus the name is the same as Melissa).
c. 1600, from Italian Decamerone, titleof Boccaccio's 14c. collection of 100 tales supposedly told over 10 days, from Greek deka "ten" (from PIE root *dekm- "ten") + hēmera "day," from PIE *Hehmer "day" (source also of Armenian awr "day"). Related: Decameronic.
