- dock
- {{11}}dock (n.1) "ship's berth," late 15c., from M.Du. or M.L.G. docke, perhaps ultimately (via L.L. *ductia "aqueduct") from L. ducere "to lead" (see DUKE (Cf. duke) (n.)); or possibly from a Scandinavian word for "low ground" (Cf. Norw. dokk "hollow, low ground"). Original sense perhaps "furrow a grounded vessel makes in a mud bank." As a verb from 1510s. Related: Docked; docking.{{12}}dock (n.2) "where accused stands in court," 1580s, originally rogue's slang, from Flem. dok "pen or cage for animals," origin unknown.{{12}}dock (n.3) name for various tall, coarse weeds, O.E. docce, from P.Gmc. *dokkon (Cf. M.Du. docke-, Ger. Docken-, O.Dan. dokka), akin to M.H.G. tocke "bundle, tuft," and ultimately to the noun source of DOCK (Cf. dock) (v.).{{13}}dock (v.) "cut an animal's tail," late 14c., from dok (n.) "fleshy part of an animal's tail" (mid-14c.), related to O.E. -docca "muscle," from P.Gmc. *dokko "something round, bundle" (Cf. O.N. dokka "bundle, girl," Dan. dukke "doll," Ger. Docke "small column, bundle, doll, smart girl"). Meaning "to reduce (someone's) pay for some infraction" is first recorded 1822. Related: Docked; docking.
Etymology dictionary. 2014.