in Greek religion, the Olympian goddess of agriculture and useful vegetation, protectress of the social order and of marriage, mother of Persephone, from Greek Dēmētēr; the second element generally given as māter (see mother (n.1)); the first element possibly from da, Doric form of Greek gē "earth" (see Gaia), but Liddell & Scott find this "improbable" and Beekes writes, "there is no indication that [da] means 'earth', although it has also been assumed in the name of Poseidon." The Latin masc. proper name Demetrius means "son of Demeter."
surname, from Irish Ó Diomasaigh "descendant of Diomasach," which is literally "proud."
fem. form of masc. proper name Dennis. Little used in U.S. before 1920s; was at its most popular (top 50) for girls born between 1951 and 1973.
Scandinavian country from Dane, the people's name, + Danish mark "border" (see mark (n.1)). The modern form is attested from late 14c. (from earlier Denemarke, c. 1200, from Old English Dene-mearce), but originally it meant western Scandinavia generally, "the lands of the Danes and Northmen." As an adjective, Middle English had Dene-marchish.
masc. proper name, from French Denis, ultimately from Latin Dionysius, name of an important 6c. Church father, from Greek Dionysos, god of wine and revelry.
city in Colorado, U.S., founded 1858 as Auraria ("golden"), renamed 1859 for Gen. James W. Denver (1817-1892), governor of the territory. The family name is from the place of that name in Norfolk, literally "ford or passage used by the Danes," from Old English Dena (genitive plural) + fær"journey, road, passage, expedition," from strong neuter of faran "to journey" (see fare (v.)).
The Denver boot or shoe (1967), a wheel clamp for illegally parked vehicles, supposedly was invented 1953 by Frank Marugg, pattern-maker and violinist with the Denver Symphony Orchestra. He was a friend of politicians and police department officials, and the city sheriff's department came to him for help in making a device to immobilize vehicles whose owners didn't pay parking tickets.
city in Iowa, U.S., named for French Rivière des Moines, the river that flows past it, which traditionally is derived from French des moines "of the monks," in reference to missionaries, but this probably is a fur trappers' folk-etymologizing of a name of the native people who lived there.
The place appears in a 1673 text as Moinguena, and historians believe this represents Miami-Illinois mooyiinkweena, literally "shitface," from mooy "excrement" + iinkwee "face;" a name given by the Peoria tribe (whose name has itself become a sort of insult) to their western neighbors. It is not unusual for Native American peoples to have had hostile or derogatory names for others, but this seems an extreme case.
city in Michigan, U.S., from French détroit, literally "straits," from Old French destreit (12c.), from Latin districtum, neuter of districtus (see district (n.)). A French fort was built there 1701. By 1918 the city name was synonymous with "U.S. automobile manufacturing."
county name, Old English Defena(scir) "(territory of the) Dumnonii," a Celtic people-name. As a type of cattle, from 1798.
masc. proper name, from Latin dexter "on the right hand" (from PIE root *deks- "right, opposite of left; south"). See dexter (adj.) and compare also Benjamin.
The English surname, however, is literally "a dyer," attested from c. 1300, from a variant of deie "dye" (see dye (n.)) + feminine agent suffix -ster. Its immediate source is Old English degstre, from deagian "to dye." The parallel form in Middle English was deister "dyer" attested from c. 1300, from 13c. as a surname (Deyster, Dygestre).
