dust
EnglishEdit
EtymologyEdit
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.
PronunciationEdit
NounEdit
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.
- 2022 September 7, “East-West track laying heads westwards”, in RAIL, number 965, page 37, photo caption:
- There is so much dust released during the process of laying ballast that the trackside operator wears a full face mask with respirator.
- (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, [Act II, scene iii]:
- to touch a dust of England's ground
- (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.
- (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?
- The earth, as the resting place of the dead.
- 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Job 7:21:
- For now shall I sleep in the dust.
- The earthy remains of bodies once alive; the remains of the human body.
- 1833 (date written), Alfred Tennyson, “St. Simeon Stylites”, in Poems. […], volume II, London: Edward Moxon, […], published 1842, →OCLC, page 62:
- For I will leave my relics in your land, / And you may carve a shrine about my dust, / And burn a fragrant lamp before my bones, / When I am gather'd to the glorious saints.
- (figuratively) Something worthless.
- c. 1596 (date written), 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, [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, 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 termsEdit
- angel dust
- antidust
- Asian dust
- beat the dust
- bedust
- bite the dust
- bull dust, bulldust
- bust the dust
- Cantor dust
- catch dust
- coaldust
- collect dust
- copple dust
- cosmic dust
- cupel dust
- devil's dust
- dhobi dust
- diamond dust
- dry as dust
- dust bag
- dustball
- dustbath, dust bath
- dustbathe
- dustbin, dust bin
- Dust Bowl
- dustbowl, dust bowl
- dust box
- dust-brand
- dustbrush
- dust bunny
- dust buster
- dust cap
- dustcart
- dust cart
- dust cloth
- dustcloud
- dustcoat
- dust-collector
- dust-colored, dust-coloured
- dust contractor
- dust cover
- dustcover
- dust devil
- dust filter
- dust-free, dustfree
- dust heap of history
- dust hole, dusthole
- dust jacket
- dustless
- dustlike
- dustman
- dust mask
- dust mite
- dustmote
- dust mouse
- dust-off
- dust-out
- dustpan
- dustpile
- dustproof
- dust-ridden
- dust ruffle
- dust settles
- dustsheet
- dust storm
- duststorm
- dust trap
- dust-up
- dustwoman
- dustwrapper
- dusty
- eat my dust
- eat someone's dust
- eraser dust
- fairy dust
- feather-dust
- fig-dust
- fugitive dust
- gather dust
- gold-dust
- gold dust
- goofer dust
- jack-of-the-dust
- kick up dust
- kiss the dust
- lay the dust
- leave for dust
- leave someone in the dust
- lick the dust
- make the dust fly
- malt dust
- milldust
- nanodust
- nondust
- not see someone for dust
- pixie dust
- sawdust
- shake off the dust from one's feet
- sleepy-dust
- sleepy dust
- small rain lays great dust
- smart dust, smartdust
- smelter dust
- stardust
- termination dust
- throw dust in someone's eyes
- turn to dust
- van Stockum dust
- whoofle dust, woofle dust
- zodiacal dust
TranslationsEdit
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
VerbEdit
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:
- 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, published 2011, page 75:
- He added in a casual tone: ‘The girl can dust. I'd like to talk to you a little, soldier.’
- 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 termsEdit
TranslationsEdit
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
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See alsoEdit
AnagramsEdit
FaroeseEdit
EtymologyEdit
NounEdit
dust n (genitive singular dusts, uncountable)
DeclensionEdit
Declension of dust (singular only) | ||
---|---|---|
n3s | singular | |
indefinite | definite | |
nominative | dust | dustið |
accusative | dust | dustið |
dative | dusti | dustinum |
genitive | dusts | dustsins |
IcelandicEdit
EtymologyEdit
PronunciationEdit
NounEdit
dust n (genitive singular dusts, no plural)
DeclensionEdit
Middle EnglishEdit
Alternative formsEdit
EtymologyEdit
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.
PronunciationEdit
NounEdit
dust (uncountable)
Related termsEdit
DescendantsEdit
ReferencesEdit
- “dū̆st, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-04-04.
Norwegian BokmålEdit
Etymology 1Edit
Back-formation of dustet, from Old Norse dust (dust particle)
NounEdit
dust m (definite singular dusten, indefinite plural duster, definite plural dustene)
- (derogatory) dork, moron, fool
SynonymsEdit
Etymology 2Edit
NounEdit
dust f or m (definite singular dusta or dusten, indefinite plural duster, definite plural dustene)
- dust (fine, dry particles)
ReferencesEdit
- “dust” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
Norwegian NynorskEdit
Etymology 1Edit
From Old Norse dust (dust particle), compare with dustete.
NounEdit
dust m (definite singular dusten, indefinite plural dustar, definite plural dustane)
- (derogatory) dork, moron, fool
SynonymsEdit
Etymology 2Edit
NounEdit
dust f (definite singular dusta, indefinite plural duster, definite plural dustene)
- dust (fine, dry particles)
ReferencesEdit
- “dust” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.
Old EnglishEdit
EtymologyEdit
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.
PronunciationEdit
NounEdit
dūst n
DeclensionEdit
DescendantsEdit
Old NorseEdit
EtymologyEdit
From Proto-Germanic *dustą.
NounEdit
dust n
- dust particle
DescendantsEdit
ReferencesEdit
- “dust”, in Geir T. Zoëga (1910) A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic, Oxford: Clarendon Press
Scottish GaelicEdit
EtymologyEdit
PronunciationEdit
NounEdit
dust m (genitive singular dust, no plural)
Usage notesEdit
- Also used figuratively for corpse.
SynonymsEdit
Derived termsEdit
SwedishEdit
NounEdit
dust c
- a joust
- (figuratively) a (minor) verbal or physical confrontation, a bout, a tussle, a run-in
DeclensionEdit
Declension of dust | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Singular | Plural | |||
Indefinite | Definite | Indefinite | Definite | |
Nominative | dust | dusten | duster | dusterna |
Genitive | dusts | dustens | dusters | dusternas |
ReferencesEdit
ZazakiEdit
NounEdit
dust
- side; one half (left or right, top or bottom, front or back, etc.) of something or someone.
- to level