1610s, "of or pertaining to the ancient Germanic peoples or tribes," from Latin Teutonicus, from Teutones, Teutoni, name of a tribe that inhabited coastal Germany near the mouth of the Elbe and devastated Gaul 113-101 B.C.E.; the name is said to be probably via Celtic from Proto-Germanic *theudanoz, from PIE root *teuta- "tribe" [Watkins].

In linguistics, an old name for the Germanic languages, or for the ancestral speech of the Germanic languages (by 18c.). It later was used in English in anthropology to avoid the modern political association of German. But in this anthropological sense French uses germanique and German uses germanisch, as neither one uses its form of German for the narrower national meaning. Compare French allemand, for which see Alemanni; and German deutsch, under Dutch.

An earlier adjective in English was Teutonie "Germanic" (mid-15c.), from Latin plural Teutoni. The Teutonic Knights (founded late 12c.) were a military order of German knights formed for service in the Holy Land, but who later crusaded in then-pagan Prussia and Lithuania. The Teutonic cross (1882) was the badge of the order.

masc. proper name, from Late Latin Theodoricus, from Gothic, literally "ruler of the people," from Gothic þiuda "people" (see Teutonic) + *reiks "ruler" (see Reich). For spelling, see Theobald. The French form of the name, via the Franks, is Thierry.

c. 1600, "a hangman," also "a gallows," from the surname of a hangman at London's Tyburn gallows, c. 1606-1608, who is often referred to in contemporary plays. The name represents a late borrowing from the Low Countries (compare Dutch Diederik) of Old High German Theodric (see Dietrich).

As "a hoisting apparatus for lifting and moving heavy weights," 1727. "It is similar to the crane, but differs from it in having the boom, which corresponds to the jib of the crane, pivoted at the lower end so that it may take different inclinations from the perpendicular" [Century Dictionary]. As the word for a structure over an oil well to support the drilling apparatus, 1861, American English.

"stabbing weapon, dagger, poinard," c. 1600, perhaps from Dirk, the proper name, which was used in Scandinavian for "a picklock." But the earliest spellings were dork, durk (Johnson, 1755, seems to be responsible for the modern spelling). The earliest association is with Highlanders, however there seems to be no such word in Gaelic, where the proper word is biodag. Another candidate is German dolch "dagger."

The masc. given name is a variant of Derrick, ultimately from the Germanic compound in Dietrich.

Proto-Indo-European root meaning "move in a straight line," with derivatives meaning "to direct in a straight line," thus "to lead, rule."

It might form all or part of: abrogate; address; adroit; Alaric; alert; anorectic; anorexia; arrogant; arrogate; bishopric; correct; corvee; derecho; derogate; derogatory; Dietrich; direct; dress; eldritch; erect; ergo; Eric; Frederick; Henry; incorrigible; interregnum; interrogate; maharajah; Maratha; prerogative; prorogue; rack (n.1) "frame with bars;" rail (n.1) "horizontal bar passing from one post or support to another;" Raj; rajah; rake (n.1) "toothed tool for drawing or scraping things together;" rake (n.2) "debauchee; idle, dissolute person;" rakish; rank (adj.) "corrupt, loathsome, foul;" real (n.) "small Spanish silver coin;" realm; reck; reckless; reckon; rectangle; rectify; rectilinear; rectitude; recto; recto-; rector; rectum; regal; regent; regicide; regime; regimen; regiment; region; regular; regulate; Regulus; Reich; reign; resurgent; rex; rich; right; Risorgimento; rogation; royal; rule; sord; source; subrogate; subrogation; surge; surrogate; viceroy.

It might also be the source of:

Sanskrit raj- "a king, a leader," rjyati "he stretches himself," riag "torture" (by racking); Avestan razeyeiti "directs," raštva- "directed, arranged, straight;" Persian rahst "right, correct;" Latin regere "to rule, direct, lead, govern," rex (genitive regis) "king," rectus "right, correct;" Greek oregein "to reach, extend;" Old Irish ri, Gaelic righ "a king," Gaulish -rix "a king" (in personal names, such as Vircingetorix), Old Irish rigim "to stretch out;" Gothic reiks "a leader," raihts "straight, right;" Lithuanian raižytis "to stretch oneself;" Old English rice "kingdom," -ric "king," rice "rich, powerful," riht "correct;" Gothic raihts, Old High German recht, Old Swedish reht, Old Norse rettr "correct."