dust
English[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From Middle English dust, doust, from Old English dūst (“dust, dried earth reduced to powder; other dry material reduced to powder”), from the fusion of Proto-Germanic *dustą (“dust”) and *dunstą (“mist, dust, evaporation”), both from Proto-Indo-European *dʰewh₂- (“to smoke, raise dust”). Cognate with Scots dust, dist (“dust”), Dutch duist (“pollen, dust”) and dons (“down, fuzz”), German Dust (“dust”) and Dunst (“haze”), Swedish dust (“dust”), Icelandic dust (“dust”), Latin fūmus (“smoke, steam”). Also related to Swedish dun (“down, fluff”), Icelandic dúnn (“down, fluff”). See down.
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
dust (countable and uncountable, plural dusts)
- Fine particles
- (uncountable) Fine, dry particles of matter found in the air and covering the surface of objects, typically consisting of soil lifted up by the wind, pollen, hair, etc.
- (astronomy, uncountable) Submicron particles in outer space, largely silicates and carbon compounds, that contribute greatly to extinction at visible wavelengths.
- 2020 June 29, Paun Rincon, “Betelgeuse: Nearby 'supernova' star's dimming explained”, in BBC News:
- Astronomers have previously considered that dust produced by the star was obscuring it, causing the steep decline in brightness.
- (obsolete) A single particle of earth or other material.
- 1595 December 9 (first known performance), William Shakespeare, “The life and death of King Richard the Second”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act II, scene iii]:
- to touch a dust of England's ground
- (countable) The act of cleaning by dusting.
- 2010, Joan Busfield, Michael Paddon, Thinking About Children: Sociology and Fertility in Post-War England (page 150)
- […] once they start school, I mean you can do a room out one day, the next day it only needs a dust, doesn't it?
- 2010, Joan Busfield, Michael Paddon, Thinking About Children: Sociology and Fertility in Post-War England (page 150)
- The earth, as the resting place of the dead.
- 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], OCLC 964384981, Job 7:21:
- For now shall I sleep in the dust.
- The earthy remains of bodies once alive; the remains of the human body.
- a. 1892, Alfred Tennyson, St. Simeon Stylites
- And you may carve a shrine about my dust.
- a. 1892, Alfred Tennyson, St. Simeon Stylites
- (figuratively) Something worthless.
- c. 1596, William Shakespeare, “The Life and Death of King Iohn”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act III, scene i]:
- And by the merit of vile gold, dross, dust.
- (figuratively) A low or mean condition.
- 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], OCLC 964384981, 1 Samuel 2:8:
- [God] raiseth up the poor out of the dust.
- (slang, dated) cash; money (in reference to gold dust).
- 1852, George Colvocoresses, Four Years in a Government Exploring Expedition:
- 'And what do you ask for it?' 'Fifteen thousand dollars.' 'I'll take it.' 'Then down with the dust.'
- (colloquial) A disturbance or uproar.
- to raise, or kick up, a dust
- (mathematics) A totally disconnected set of points with a fractal structure.
Derived terms[edit]
- angel dust
- bite the dust
- catch dust
- dustball
- dustbath
- dustbin, dust bin
- dustbowl, dust bowl
- dustbrush
- dust bunny
- dustcart
- dustcloud
- dustcoat
- dustcover
- dust devil
- dust filter
- dust-free, dustfree
- dustman
- dust mask
- dustpan
- dust-ridden
- duststorm
- dust trap
- dust-up
- dustwoman
- dustwrapper
- dusty
- fairy dust
- goofer dust
- pixie dust
- smart dust, smartdust
- stardust
- turn to dust
Translations[edit]
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Verb[edit]
dust (third-person singular simple present dusts, present participle dusting, simple past and past participle dusted)
- (transitive) To remove dust from.
- 1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter XII, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, OCLC 4293071:
- There were many wooden chairs for the bulk of his visitors, and two wicker armchairs with red cloth cushions for superior people. From the packing-cases had emerged some Indian clubs, […], and all these articles […] made a scattered and untidy decoration that Mrs. Clough assiduously dusted and greatly cherished.
- The cleaning lady needs a stool to dust the cupboard.
- (intransitive) To remove dust; to clean by removing dust.
- Dusting always makes me cough.
- (intransitive) Of a bird, to cover itself in sand or dry, dusty earth.
- (transitive) To spray or cover something with fine powder or liquid.
- The mother dusted her baby's bum with talcum powder.
- (chiefly US slang) To leave; to rush off.
- 1939, Raymond Chandler, The Big Sleep, Penguin 2011, page 75:
- He added in a casual tone: ‘The girl can dust. I'd like to talk to you a little, soldier.’
- 1939, Raymond Chandler, The Big Sleep, Penguin 2011, page 75:
- To reduce to a fine powder; to levigate.
- 1667, Thomas Sprat, History of the Royal Society of London:
- good Powder differs from bad […] in having more Peter and less Coal; and lastly, in the well dusting of it
- (slang) To kill.
- 1984, The Terminator, Los Angeles, Calif.: Orion Pictures; distributed by MGM Home Entertainment, published 1984, spoken by Kyle Reese (Michael Biehn):
- Kyle Reese: You have to be careful because the [Hunter-Killer robots] use infrared. They're not too bright. John taught us ways to dust them.
Derived terms[edit]
Translations[edit]
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
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See also[edit]
Anagrams[edit]
Faroese[edit]
Noun[edit]
dust n (genitive singular dusts, uncountable)
Declension[edit]
Declension of dust (singular only) | ||
---|---|---|
n3s | singular | |
indefinite | definite | |
nominative | dust | dustið |
accusative | dust | dustið |
dative | dusti | dustinum |
genitive | dusts | dustsins |
Icelandic[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Borrowed from Middle Low German dûst, from Proto-Germanic *dunstą.
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
dust n (genitive singular dusts, no plural)
Declension[edit]
Middle English[edit]
Alternative forms[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Forms with a long vowel are from Old English dūst, from Proto-Germanic *dunstą. Forms with a short vowel are from Old English *dust, from Proto-Germanic *dustą.
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
dust (uncountable)
Related terms[edit]
Descendants[edit]
References[edit]
- “dū̆st, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-04-04.
Norwegian Bokmål[edit]
Etymology 1[edit]
Back-formation of dustet, from Old Norse dust (dust particle)
Noun[edit]
dust m (definite singular dusten, indefinite plural duster, definite plural dustene)
- (derogatory) dork, moron, fool
Synonyms[edit]
Etymology 2[edit]
Noun[edit]
dust f or m (definite singular dusta or dusten, indefinite plural duster, definite plural dustene)
- dust (fine, dry particles)
References[edit]
- “dust” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
Norwegian Nynorsk[edit]
Etymology 1[edit]
From Old Norse dust (dust particle), compare with dustete
Noun[edit]
dust m (definite singular dusten, indefinite plural dustar, definite plural dustane)
- (derogatory) dork, moron, fool
Synonyms[edit]
Etymology 2[edit]
Noun[edit]
dust f (definite singular dusta, indefinite plural duster, definite plural dustene)
- dust (fine, dry particles)
References[edit]
- “dust” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.
Old English[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From Proto-Germanic *dunstą (“dust, vapour”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰew- (“vapour, smoke”). Akin to Hindi धुआं (dhuā̃, “smoke”), Middle Dutch dost, donst, duust (Dutch dons, duist), Old High German tunst, dunst (German Dunst), Low German dust, Icelandic dust, Norwegian dust, Danish dyst.
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
dūst n
Declension[edit]
Descendants[edit]
Old Norse[edit]
Noun[edit]
dust n
- dust particle
Descendants[edit]
References[edit]
- “dust”, in Geir T. Zoëga (1910) A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic, Oxford: Clarendon Press
Scottish Gaelic[edit]
Noun[edit]
dust m (genitive singular dust, no plural)
Usage notes[edit]
- Also used figuratively for corpse.
Synonyms[edit]
Derived terms[edit]
Zazaki[edit]
Noun[edit]
dust c
- side; one half (left or right, top or bottom, front or back, etc.) of something or someone.
- to level
Derived terms[edit]
- English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *dʰewh₂-
- English terms inherited from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms inherited from Old English
- English terms derived from Old English
- English terms inherited from Proto-Germanic
- English terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- English 1-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- Rhymes:English/ʌst
- Rhymes:English/ʌst/1 syllable
- English terms with homophones
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English uncountable nouns
- English countable nouns
- en:Astronomy
- English terms with quotations
- English terms with obsolete senses
- English slang
- English dated terms
- English colloquialisms
- en:Mathematics
- English verbs
- English transitive verbs
- English terms with usage examples
- English intransitive verbs
- American English
- en:Hygiene
- English contranyms
- Faroese lemmas
- Faroese nouns
- Faroese neuter nouns
- Faroese uncountable nouns
- Icelandic terms borrowed from Middle Low German
- Icelandic terms derived from Middle Low German
- Icelandic terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- Icelandic 1-syllable words
- Icelandic terms with IPA pronunciation
- Rhymes:Icelandic/ʏst
- Rhymes:Icelandic/ʏst/1 syllable
- Icelandic lemmas
- Icelandic nouns
- Icelandic neuter nouns
- Icelandic uncountable nouns
- Middle English terms inherited from Old English
- Middle English terms derived from Old English
- Middle English terms inherited from Proto-Germanic
- Middle English terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- Middle English terms with IPA pronunciation
- Middle English lemmas
- Middle English nouns
- Middle English uncountable nouns
- enm:Hygiene
- Norwegian Bokmål terms derived from Old Norse
- Norwegian Bokmål lemmas
- Norwegian Bokmål nouns
- Norwegian Bokmål masculine nouns
- Norwegian Bokmål derogatory terms
- Norwegian Bokmål feminine nouns
- Norwegian Bokmål nouns with multiple genders
- Norwegian Nynorsk terms derived from Old Norse
- Norwegian Nynorsk lemmas
- Norwegian Nynorsk nouns
- Norwegian Nynorsk masculine nouns
- Norwegian Nynorsk derogatory terms
- Norwegian Nynorsk feminine nouns
- Old English terms inherited from Proto-Germanic
- Old English terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- Old English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- Old English terms with IPA pronunciation
- Old English lemmas
- Old English nouns
- Old English neuter nouns
- Old English neuter a-stem nouns
- Old Norse lemmas
- Old Norse nouns
- Old Norse neuter nouns
- Scottish Gaelic lemmas
- Scottish Gaelic nouns
- Scottish Gaelic masculine nouns
- Zazaki lemmas
- Zazaki nouns
- Zazaki common-gender nouns
- Zazaki common gender nouns