/dɹiːm/·noun·c. 1250 (sleep-vision sense); before 900 CE (joy sense)·Established
Origin
Its form is OldEnglish 'dream' (joy, music), but its meaning was imported from Old Norse 'draumr' (sleep vision).
Definition
A series of thoughts, images, and sensations occurring in a person's mind during sleep; a cherished aspiration or ambition.
The Full Story
Proto-Germanic via Old English and Old Norsebefore 900 CEwell-attested
From OldEnglish drēam (joy, music, merriment, jubilation) and Old Norse draumr (a dream, vision during sleep). These share a common Proto-Germanicancestor *draugmaz (deception, illusion, phantom), which has no settled PIE etymology — the root may be *dhreugh- (to deceive, to harm) or may be Germanic-only. The semantic history of the English word
Did you know?
OldEnglish 'drēam' meant 'joy' and 'music,' not 'a vision during sleep.' The sleep-vision meaning came from Old Norse 'draumr,' brought by Viking settlers. So modern 'dream' is a hybrid: the Old English shellfilled with Old Norse meaning. The original Old English
transfer: the Old English drēam meant joy and music (a 'gleeman's dream' was a musical performance), never sleep-vision. The sleep sense arrived via Old
joy. Modern English dream fuses the Old English phonological form with the Old Norse semantic content — a perfect Viking palimpsest. Cognates in other Germanic languages show the dream/illusion sense: German Traum, Dutch droom, Danish drøm, Swedish dröm, Icelandic draumur. Key roots: *draugmaz (Proto-Germanic: "deception, illusion, phantom").