Another word request, although I have to warn you that this one is a bit boring compared to the last one. Every single etymon of done means "do"; as such a simple and essential word it underwent very little semantic change, because it was always needed in that context, and there was no need to replace it or change it, ever. However, because it was so common, it also underwent a lot of orthographic variation, as the sheer number of usages inevitably caused. In Middle English, done took the forms of don, idon, yedon, gedon, and more; in Old English it was don or gedon. Reconstructing it further yields the Proto-Germanic word donaz and, earlier, the Proto-Indo-European word deh, obviously still meaning "to do", but also holding definitions of "to place" or "to put". Usage of both do and done has been relatively constant since the 1720s, and do is used about ten times as often. Okay, I guess you could say that this blog post is done.
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AUTHORHello! I'm Adam Aleksic. I have a linguistics degree from Harvard University, where I co-founded the Harvard Undergraduate Linguistics Society and wrote my thesis on Serbo-Croatian language policy. In addition to etymology, I also really enjoy traveling, trivia, philosophy, board games, conlanging, and art history.
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