dust

English

/dʌst/

noun
Definitions
  • Fine particles
  • (countable) The act of cleaning by dusting.
  • The earth, as the resting place of the dead.
  • The earthy remains of bodies once alive; the remains of the human body.
  • (figurative) Something worthless.
  • (figurative) A low or mean condition.
  • (slang) cash; money (in reference to gold dust).
  • (colloquial) A disturbance or uproar.
  • (mathematics) A totally disconnected set of points with a fractal structure.

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English dust inherited from Old English dūst (dust, other dry material reduced to powder, dried earth reduced to powder) inherited from Proto-Germanic *dustą (dust) derived from Proto-Indo-European *dʰewh₂- (smoke, haze, raise dust, mist, come full circle, finish, fume, blow, dark, whisk, vapor, breath, gray, deep, camouflage), *dʰewh₂- (smoke, haze, raise dust, mist, come full circle, finish, fume, blow, dark, whisk, vapor, breath, gray, deep, camouflage).

Origin

Proto-Indo-European

*dʰewh₂-

Gloss

smoke, haze, raise dust, mist, come full circle, finish, fume, blow, dark, whisk, vapor, breath, gray, deep, camouflage

Concept
Semantic Field

Basic actions and technology

Ontological Category

Action/Process

Kanji

暗, 闇, 冥

Emoji
🌋 🚬

Timeline

Distribution of cognates by language

Geogrpahic distribution of cognates

Cognates and derived terms