design

See also: Design

English

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *de

Proto-Indo-European *-h₁

Proto-Indo-European *déh₁

Proto-Italic *dē

Latin dē

Latin dē-

Proto-Indo-European *sek-?

Proto-Indo-European *-nóm

Proto-Italic *segnom

Proto-Indo-European *-h₂

Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂

Proto-Indo-European *-yéti

Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti

Proto-Indo-European *-h₂tiinflu.

Proto-Italic *-ājō

Proto-Italic *-āō

Proto-Italic *segnāō

Latin signō

Latin designōder.

Old French designerder.

Middle English designen

English design

From Middle English designen, from Old French designer, from Latin designō (“to mark out, point out, describe, design, contrive”), from de- (or dis-) + signō (“to mark”), from signum (“mark”). Doublet of designate.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation, General American, Canada) IPA^(key): /dɪˈzaɪn/

  • Audio (California):

    (file)

• (Australia) IPA^(key): /dɪˈzɑen/
• (New Zealand) IPA^(key): [dəˈzɑe̯n]
• Hyphenation: de‧sign
• Rhymes: -aɪn

Noun

design (countable and uncountable, plural designs)

1. A specification of an object or process, referring to requirements to be satisfied and thus conditions to be met for them to solve a problem.
   • 2026, Michael Falk, “Wikilambda the ultimate: the Wikimedia foundation’s search for the perfect language”, in AI & Society: Knowledge, Culture and Communication, →DOI:

     The Wikilambda developers charmingly admit that they are not very experienced in language design.

2. A plan (with more or less detail) for the structure and functions of an artifact, building or system.

   The initial design of the park was rejected for being too expensive.

   • 1999, Lætitia Sadier, “The Free Design”, in Tim Gane (music), Cobra and Phases Group Play Voltage in the Milky Night, performed by Stereolab:

     Where it had been left hundreds of years ago, / Extract from the depth, is but a setting sun, / Paradise is scarce in this light that won’t shine, / What is our earthly task, but a worthy design?

3. A pattern, as an element of a work of art or architecture.

   We're working on some new designs for our range of summer shirts

4. The composition of a work of art.
5. Intention or plot.

   We have designs on winning the league next season.

   To be hateful of the truth by design.

   • 1762, Charles Johnstone, The Reverie; or, A Flight to the Paradise of Fools‎^[1], volume 2, Dublin: Printed by Dillon Chamberlaine, →OCLC, page 202:

     At length, one night, when the company by ſome accident broke up much ſooner than ordinary, ſo that the candles were not half burnt out, ſhe was not able to reſiſt the temptation, but reſolved to have them ſome way or other. Accordingly, as ſoon as the hurry was over, and the ſervants, as ſhe thought, all gone to ſleep, ſhe ſtole out of her bed, and went down ſtairs, naked to her ſhift as ſhe was, with a deſign to ſteal them […]

   • 1763, Antoine-Simon Le Page du Pratz, History of Louisisana, PG, page 40:

     I give it you without any other design than to shew you that I reckon nothing dear to me, when I want to do you a pleasure.

   • 1901 [1878], chapter 5, in Constance Garnett, transl., Anna Karenina‎^[2], translation of Анна Каренина (Anna Karenina) by Leo Tolstoy, part 5:

     "They say if anyone's best man more than ten times, he'll never be married. I wanted to be for the tenth time, but the post was taken," said Count Siniavin to the pretty Princess Tcharskaya, who had designs on him.

   • 2011 June 28, Piers Newbery, “Wimbledon 2011: Sabine Lisicki beats Marion Bartoli”, in BBC Sport‎^[3]:

     Lisicki will rise from her current ranking of 62 to at least 35 in the world on the back of her efforts at the All England Club, but she will have serious designs on a first Grand Slam title after overcoming the 2007 runner-up.

6. The shape or appearance given to an object, especially one that is intended to make it more attractive.
   • 1963, Margery Allingham, “Foreword”, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC:

     He turned back to the scene before him and the enormous new block of council dwellings. The design was some way after Corbusier but the block was built up on plinths and resembled an Atlantic liner swimming diagonally across the site.

7. The art of designing

   Danish furniture design is world-famous.

Synonyms

• (plan): See Thesaurus:diagram
• (intention): See Thesaurus:design

Hyponyms

plan for the structure and functions of an artifact, building or system (here a piece of software)

• architectural design
• backward design
• block design
• computational design
• computer-aided design
• contract-first design
• cradle-to-cradle design
• defensive design
• design by contract
• domain-driven design
• experimental design
• fashion design
• firmware design
• flat design
• functional design
• graphic design
• hardware design
• industrial design
• information design
• instructional design
• intelligent design
• interaction design
• interior design
• model-based design
• motion design
• open design
• product design
• responsive design
• seismic design
• software design
• sound design
• systems design
• type design
• universal design
• universal design for instruction
• web design
• zero-order design

Derived terms

• antidesign
• argument from design
• biodesign
• by design
• designathon
• design-based learning
• design code
• design depth
• designer
• design fiction
• design flaw
• designful
• design language
• designless
• design load
• designment
• designoid
• design pattern
• design release engineer, design and release engineer
• design speed
• design system
• design thinking
• design to cost
• designwise
• ecodesign
• industrial design right
• misdesign
• nanodesign
• nondesign
• scenic design
• secure by design
• security-by-design
• security by design
• service design package
• set design
• stage design
• subdesign
• thermal design power
• undesign

Descendants

• Tok Pisin: disain
• → Burmese: ဒီဇိုင်း (dijuing:)
• → Czech: design
• → Dutch: design
• → Finnish: design
• → French: design
• → German: Design
• → Hungarian: dizájn, design
• → Italian: design
• → Japanese: デザイン (dezain)
• → Korean: 디자인 (dijain)
• → Polish: design
• → Portuguese: design
• → Russian: диза́йн (dizájn)
  • → Kazakh: дизайн (dıyzayn)
• → Serbo-Croatian: dizajn
• → Swedish: design
• → Turkish: dizayn

Translations

plan — see also model

• Afrikaans: ontwerp (af)
• Arabic: تَخْطِيط m (taḵṭīṭ), تصميم (taṣmīm)
• Armenian: նախագիծ (hy) (naxagic)
• Bulgarian: план (bg) m (plan), констру́кция (bg) f (konstrúkcija), диза́йн (bg) m (dizájn)
• Catalan: disseny (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 設計 / 设计 (zh) (shèjì)

• Czech: návrh (cs) m
• Dutch: ontwerp (nl) n
• Esperanto: plano
• Estonian: kavand
• Finnish: suunnitelma (fi), malli (fi), kaavio (fi), rakennekaavio
• French: conception (fr) f, plan (fr) m
• Galician: deseño (gl) m
• Georgian: გეგმა (gegma)
• German: Design (de) n, Entwurf (de) m
• Greek: σχέδιο (el) n (schédio)
• Hindi: डिज़ाइन m (ḍizāin), अभिकल्प m (abhikalp)
• Hungarian: terv (hu), tervezet (hu), vázlat (hu)
• Icelandic: hönnun f
• Indonesian: desain (id), rancangan (id)
• Irish: dearadh m
• Italian: disegno (it) m, design (it) m, progetto (it), pianta (it)
• Japanese: 設計 (ja) (せっけい, sekkei), デザイン (ja) (dezain)
• Korean: 설계(設計) (ko) (seolgye), 계획(計劃) (ko) (gyehoek), 디자인 (ko) (dijain)
• Kyrgyz: шөкөт (ky) (şököt)
• Ladino: desen
• Macedonian: нацрт m (nacrt), план (mk) m (plan)
• Malay: reka bentuk
• Maltese: disinn
• Persian:

  Iranian Persian: طَراحی (fa) (tarâhi), دیزایْن (fa) (dizâyn), طَرْح (fa) (tarh)

• Plautdietsch: Plon m
• Polish: projekt (pl) m inan, plan (pl) m inan, abrys (pl) m
• Portuguese: projeto (pt) m, design (pt) m
• Russian: план (ru) m (plan), констру́кция (ru) f (konstrúkcija), диза́йн (ru) m (dizájn), прое́кт (ru) m (proékt)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: нацрт m, план m

  Latin: nacrt (sh) m, plan (sh) m

• Sindhi: ^{(please verify)} َجنسار f (jinsaar-a)
• Spanish: diseño (es) m
• Swedish: utkast (sv) n, design (sv) c
• Tagalog: antangan
• Turkish: dizayn (tr), tasarım (tr)
• Urdu: تَرْتِیب (ur) m (tartīb), ڈِیزائِن m (ḍīzāin)

pattern — see also model

• Afrikaans: ontwerp (af)
• Bulgarian: шарка (bg) f (šarka), десе́н (bg) m (desén)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 圖案 / 图案 (zh) (tú'àn), 圖樣 / 图样 (zh) (túyàng), 模式 (zh) (móshì)

• Dutch: dessin (nl)
• Finnish: kuvio (fi), design (fi), kuviointi (fi), kuosi (fi)
• French: modèle (fr) f
• Georgian: დიზაინი (ka) (dizaini), მოდელი (modeli)
• German: Muster (de) n
• Greek: σχέδιο (el) n (schédio)
• Hungarian: minta (hu)
• Ingrian: koosi
• Italian: design (it)
• Japanese: 模様 (ja) (もよう, moyō), デザイン (ja) (dezain)
• Korean: 무늬 (ko) (munui)
• Kyrgyz: шөкөт (ky) (şököt)
• Lao: ລິງລາຽ (ling lāi)
• Navajo: naʼashchʼąąʼ
• Plautdietsch: Plon m
• Polish: wzór (pl) m inan, motyw (pl) m inan
• Portuguese: projeto (pt) m
• Russian: узо́р (ru) m (uzór), образе́ц (ru) m (obrazéc), моде́ль (ru) f (modɛ́lʹ), диза́йн (ru) m (dizájn)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: узорак m, дизајн m, мустра f

  Latin: uzorak (sh) m, dizajn (sh) m, mustra (sh) f

• Tagalog: antangan
• Thai: แบบ (th) (bɛ̀ɛp)
• Turkish: desen (tr)

composition

• Afrikaans: versameling (af)
• Bulgarian: компози́ция (bg) f (kompozícija), констру́кция (bg) f (konstrúkcija)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 設計 / 设计 (zh) (shèjì)

• Finnish: sommittelu (fi), sommitelma (fi), asetelma (fi)
• Georgian: კომპოზიცია (ḳomṗozicia)
• Hungarian: kialakítás (hu), kivitelezés (hu), kivitel (hu), kompozíció (hu), konstrukció (hu), formatervezés (hu)
• Korean: 설계(設計) (ko) (seolgye)
• Polish: kompozycja (pl) f
• Russian: компози́ция (ru) f (kompozícija), констру́кция (ru) f (konstrúkcija)
• Turkish: bileşim (tr), kompozisyon (tr)

intention — see also intention,‎ will

• Afrikaans: bedoeling (af)
• Bashkir: ниәт (niyät)
• Bulgarian: наме́рение (bg) n (namérenie)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 打算 (zh) (dǎsuàn, dǎsuan), 意圖 / 意图 (zh) (yìtú)

• Esperanto: projekto
• Finnish: suunnitelma (fi), juoni (fi), aie (fi), aikomus (fi)
• French: dessein (fr) m, intention (fr) f
• Georgian: ჩანაფიქრი (čanapikri)
• German: Absicht (de) f
• Hungarian: szándék (hu), terv (hu), elgondolás (hu)
• Italian: intenzione (it) f, piano (it) m, progettazione (it)
• Japanese: 意図 (ja) (いと, ito)
• Korean: 의도(意圖) (ko) (uido)
• Occitan: dessenh (oc) m, intencion (oc) f
• Polish: zamysł (pl) m inan, zamiar (pl) m inan
• Portuguese: intenção (pt) f
• Russian: план (ru) m (plan), наме́рение (ru) n (namérenije), за́мысел (ru) m (zámysel), (evil plot) у́мысел (ru) m (úmysel)
• Scottish Gaelic: rùn m
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: интенција f, накана f

  Latin: intencija (sh) f, nakana (sh) f

• Spanish: designio (es) m, deseño (es) m
• Turkish: niyet (tr)
• Ukrainian: за́дум (uk) m (zádum), за́мисел m (zámysel), за́мір m (zámir), на́мір (uk) m (námir), план (uk) m (plan)

appearance

• Afrikaans: ontwerp (af)
• Bulgarian: диза́йн (bg) m (dizájn)
• Finnish: muotoilu (fi), design (fi), kuosi (fi)
• German: Entwurf (de) m
• Hungarian: kinézet (hu), kialakítás (hu), arculat (hu), formaterv, stílus (hu), dizájn (hu)
• Italian: design (it)
• Korean: 모습 (ko) (moseup)
• Polish: wzór (pl) m inan, krój (pl) m inan (of a typeface), design (pl) m inan, dizajn (pl) m inan
• Russian: диза́йн (ru) m (dizájn), вне́шний вид (ru) m (vnéšnij vid), экстерье́р (ru) m (ekstɛrʹjér)
• Turkish: tasarım (tr)

art of designing

• Afrikaans: ontwerp (af)
• Albanian: dizajn m
• Arabic: تَصْمِيم m (taṣmīm), ديزاين m (dīzāyn)
• Armenian: դիզայն (hy) (dizayn)
• Azerbaijani: dizayn
• Belarusian: дыза́йн m (dyzájn)
• Bulgarian: диза́йн (bg) m (dizájn)
• Burmese: ဒီဇိုင်း (my) (dijuing:)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 設計 / 设计 (zh) (shèjì)

• Czech: design (cs) m
• Danish: design c
• Dutch: vormgeving (nl), ontwerp (nl) n, design (nl) n
• Estonian: disain
• Finnish: muotoilu (fi), design (fi), suunnittelu (fi), sommittelu (fi)
• French: design (fr) m
• Georgian: დიზაინი (ka) (dizaini)
• German: Design (de) n, Entwurf (de) m
• Greek: σχέδιο (el) n (schédio)
• Hebrew: עיצוב m ('ytzuv)
• Hindi: डिज़ाइन (ḍizāin)
• Hungarian: formatervezés (hu), tervezőművészet, dizájn (hu)
• Italian: design (it) m
• Japanese: デザイン (ja) (dezain)
• Kazakh: дизайн (dıyzayn)
• Korean: 디자인 (ko) (dijain)
• Kyrgyz: дизайн (ky) (dizayn)
• Latvian: dizains m
• Lithuanian: dizainas m
• Macedonian: дизајн m (dizajn)
• Mongolian: дизайн (mn) (dizajn)
• Persian:

  Iranian Persian: طَراحی (fa) (tarâhi), دیزایْن (fa) (dizâyn)

• Polish: wzornictwo n, design (pl) m
• Portuguese: desenho (pt) m
• Romanian: design (ro) n
• Russian: диза́йн (ru) m (dizájn)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: дизајн m

  Latin: dizajn (sh)

• Slovak: dizajn m
• Slovene: dizajn m, oblikovanje n
• Spanish: diseño (es) m
• Swedish: design (sv) c, formgivning (sv) c, formgivning (sv) c
• Tajik: дизайн (dizayn)
• Thai: การออกแบบ (th) (gaan-ɔ̀ɔk-bɛ̀ɛp)
• Turkish: dizayn (tr), tasarım (tr)
• Turkmen: dizaýn
• Ukrainian: диза́йн (uk) m (dyzájn)
• Uzbek: dizayn (uz)
• Vietnamese: thiết kế (vi)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Esperanto: ^{(please verify)} dezajno

Verb

design (third-person singular simple present designs, present participle designing, simple past and past participle designed)

1. (transitive) To plan and carry out (a picture, work of art, construction etc.).

   comments designed to chip away at my self-esteem

   He always designs gaming laptops from 4:00 pm to 1:00 am.

   [from 17th c.]

   • 1863, Sheridan Le Fanu, The House by the Churchyard:

     She designed his retirement from the Royal Irish Artillery, and had negociated an immediate berth for him on the Staff of the Commander of the Forces, and a prospective one in the household of Lord Townshend […]

   • 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 1, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC:

     The huge square box, parquet-floored and high-ceilinged, had been arranged to display a suite of bedroom furniture designed and made in the halcyon days of the last quarter of the nineteenth century, when modish taste was just due to go clean out of fashion for the best part of the next hundred years.

2. (obsolete, intransitive) To plan (to do something).

   The king designed to mount an expedition to the New World.

3. (obsolete, transitive) To assign, appoint (something to someone); to designate. [16th–19th c.]
   • 1646, Thomas Browne, chapter I, in Pseudodoxia Epidemica: […], London: […] T[homas] H[arper] for Edward Dod, […], →OCLC, 1st book, page 10:

     he looks not below the Moon, but hath designed the regiment of sublunary affairs unto inferiour deputations.

   • 1700, John Dryden, Translations from Ovid's Epistles, Preface:

     He was designed to the study of the law.

4. (obsolete, transitive) To mark out and exhibit; to designate; to indicate; to show; to point out; to appoint.
5. To manifest requirements to be satisfied by an object or process for them to solve a problem.
   • 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 I, scene i]:

     We shall see / Justice design the victor's chivalry.

   • 1616–1619 (first performance), John Fletcher, Philip Massinger, Nathan Field, “The Knight of Malta”, in Comedies and Tragedies […], London: […] Humphrey Robinson, […], and for Humphrey Moseley […], published 1647, →OCLC, Act I, scene iii:

     Meet me to-morrow where the master / And this fraternity shall design.

Conjugation

Conjugation of design

infinitive	(to) design
	present tense	past tense
1st-person singular	design	designed
2nd-person singular	design, designest†	designed, designedst†
3rd-person singular	designs, designeth†	designed
plural	design
subjunctive	design	designed
imperative	design	—
participles	designing	designed

^† Archaic or obsolete.

Derived terms

• a camel is a horse designed by a committee
• codesign
• designability
• designable
• designed
• designedly
• designer
• foredesign
• misdesign
• outdesign
• overdesign
• predesign
• redesign
• undesign
• undesignable
• undesigned
• undesignedly

Translations

to plan an artwork etc.

• Armenian: նախագծել (hy) (naxagcel)
• Bulgarian: замислям (bg) (zamisljam), проектирам (bg) (proektiram)
• Catalan: dissenyar (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 設計 / 设计 (zh) (shèjì)

• Cornish: desinya
• Dutch: ontwerpen (nl)
• Estonian: kavandama
• Finnish: suunnitella (fi), muotoilla (fi)
• French: concevoir (fr)
• Galician: deseñar (gl)
• German: entwerfen (de), designen (de)
• Greek: σχεδιάζω (el) (schediázo)
• Hungarian: tervez (hu), megtervez (hu), kialakít (hu)
• Icelandic: hanna
• Interlingua: designar
• Irish: dear
• Italian: progettare (it)
• Lao: ອອກແບບ (lo) (ʼǭk bǣp)
• Lü: ᦶᦑᧅᦖᦻ (taekṁaay), ᦎᧂᧉᦞᦱᧆ (ṫang²vaad)
• Maltese: iddisinnja
• Māori: hoahoa
• Persian: طراحی کردن (tarrâhi kardan), طرازیدن (fa) (tarâzidan)
• Polish: projektować (pl) impf
• Portuguese: projetar (pt)
• Quechua: chantay
• Shan: ၸၼ်ႁၢင်ႈ (tsǎn hāang)
• Sindhi: جنسارڻ (Jinsaaran)
• Slovak: nadizajnovať pf
• Spanish: diseñar (es)
• Swedish: designa (sv), utforma (sv)
• Thai: ออกแบบ (th) (ɔ̀ɔk-bɛ̀ɛp)
• Turkish: tasarlamak (tr)
• Ukrainian: проєктува́ти impf (projektuváty)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Arabic: ^{(please verify)} يصمم (yusámmem)
• Czech: ^{(please verify)} navrhnout (cs)
• Esperanto: ^{(please verify)} desegni (eo)

References

• “design”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin Eli Smith, editors (1895–1910), “design”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.
• “design”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

Further reading

• design on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Anagrams

• Edgins, deigns, dinges, gnides, nidges, sdeign, signed, singed

Czech

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈdɪzajn]

Noun

design m inan

1. design

Declension

Declension of design (hard masculine inanimate)

	singular	plural
nominative	design	designy
genitive	designu	designů
dative	designu	designům
accusative	design	designy
vocative	designe	designy
locative	designu	designech
instrumental	designem	designy

Further reading

• “design”, in Kartotéka Novočeského lexikálního archivu (in Czech)
• “design”, in Akademický slovník cizích slov at prirucka.ujc.cas.cz [Academic dictionary of foreign words] (in Czech), 1995

Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from English design.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /diˈzɑi̯n/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: de‧sign

Noun

design n (plural designs, no diminutive)

1. design

   Synonyms: ontwerp, vormgeving

Derived terms

• designkleding
• designmeubel
• designstoel

Finnish

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English design.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈdisɑi̯n/, [ˈdis̠ɑ̝i̯n]
• Rhymes: -isɑin
• Syllabification^(key): de‧sign
• Hyphenation^(key): de‧sign

Noun

design

1. design

   Synonym: suunnittelu

Declension

Inflection of design (Kotus type 5/risti, no gradation)
nominative		design	designit
genitive		designin	designien
partitive		designia	designeja
illative		designiin	designeihin
		singular	plural
nominative		design	designit
accusative	nom.	design	designit
	gen.	designin
genitive		designin	designien
partitive		designia	designeja
inessive		designissa	designeissa
elative		designista	designeista
illative		designiin	designeihin
adessive		designilla	designeilla
ablative		designilta	designeilta
allative		designille	designeille
essive		designina	designeina
translative		designiksi	designeiksi
abessive		designitta	designeitta
instructive		—	designein
comitative		See the possessive forms below.

Possessive forms of design (Kotus type 5/risti, no gradation)

first-person singular possessor singular plural nominative designini designini accusative nom. designini designini gen. designini genitive designini designieni partitive designiani designejani inessive designissani designeissani elative designistani designeistani illative designiini designeihini adessive designillani designeillani ablative designiltani designeiltani allative designilleni designeilleni essive designinani designeinani translative designikseni designeikseni abessive designittani designeittani instructive — — comitative — designeineni second-person singular possessor singular plural nominative designisi designisi accusative nom. designisi designisi gen. designisi genitive designisi designiesi partitive designiasi designejasi inessive designissasi designeissasi elative designistasi designeistasi illative designiisi designeihisi adessive designillasi designeillasi ablative designiltasi designeiltasi allative designillesi designeillesi essive designinasi designeinasi translative designiksesi designeiksesi abessive designittasi designeittasi instructive — — comitative — designeinesi first-person plural possessor singular plural nominative designimme designimme accusative nom. designimme designimme gen. designimme genitive designimme designiemme partitive designiamme designejamme inessive designissamme designeissamme elative designistamme designeistamme illative designiimme designeihimme adessive designillamme designeillamme ablative designiltamme designeiltamme allative designillemme designeillemme essive designinamme designeinamme translative designiksemme designeiksemme abessive designittamme designeittamme instructive — — comitative — designeinemme second-person plural possessor singular plural nominative designinne designinne accusative nom. designinne designinne gen. designinne genitive designinne designienne partitive designianne designejanne inessive designissanne designeissanne elative designistanne designeistanne illative designiinne designeihinne adessive designillanne designeillanne ablative designiltanne designeiltanne allative designillenne designeillenne essive designinanne designeinanne translative designiksenne designeiksenne abessive designittanne designeittanne instructive — — comitative — designeinenne third-person possessor singular plural nominative designinsa designinsa accusative nom. designinsa designinsa gen. designinsa genitive designinsa designiensa partitive designiaan designiansa designejaan designejansa inessive designissaan designissansa designeissaan designeissansa elative designistaan designistansa designeistaan designeistansa illative designiinsa designeihinsa adessive designillaan designillansa designeillaan designeillansa ablative designiltaan designiltansa designeiltaan designeiltansa allative designilleen designillensa designeilleen designeillensa essive designinaan designinansa designeinaan designeinansa translative designikseen designiksensa designeikseen designeiksensa abessive designittaan designittansa designeittaan designeittansa instructive — — comitative — designeineen designeinensa

Inflection of design (Kotus type 5/risti, no gradation)
nominative		design	designit
genitive		designin	designien
partitive		designiä	designejä
illative		designiin	designeihin
		singular	plural
nominative		design	designit
accusative	nom.	design	designit
	gen.	designin
genitive		designin	designien
partitive		designiä	designejä
inessive		designissä	designeissä
elative		designistä	designeistä
illative		designiin	designeihin
adessive		designillä	designeillä
ablative		designiltä	designeiltä
allative		designille	designeille
essive		designinä	designeinä
translative		designiksi	designeiksi
abessive		designittä	designeittä
instructive		—	designein
comitative		See the possessive forms below.

Possessive forms of design (Kotus type 5/risti, no gradation)

first-person singular possessor singular plural nominative designini designini accusative nom. designini designini gen. designini genitive designini designieni partitive designiäni designejäni inessive designissäni designeissäni elative designistäni designeistäni illative designiini designeihini adessive designilläni designeilläni ablative designiltäni designeiltäni allative designilleni designeilleni essive designinäni designeinäni translative designikseni designeikseni abessive designittäni designeittäni instructive — — comitative — designeineni second-person singular possessor singular plural nominative designisi designisi accusative nom. designisi designisi gen. designisi genitive designisi designiesi partitive designiäsi designejäsi inessive designissäsi designeissäsi elative designistäsi designeistäsi illative designiisi designeihisi adessive designilläsi designeilläsi ablative designiltäsi designeiltäsi allative designillesi designeillesi essive designinäsi designeinäsi translative designiksesi designeiksesi abessive designittäsi designeittäsi instructive — — comitative — designeinesi first-person plural possessor singular plural nominative designimme designimme accusative nom. designimme designimme gen. designimme genitive designimme designiemme partitive designiämme designejämme inessive designissämme designeissämme elative designistämme designeistämme illative designiimme designeihimme adessive designillämme designeillämme ablative designiltämme designeiltämme allative designillemme designeillemme essive designinämme designeinämme translative designiksemme designeiksemme abessive designittämme designeittämme instructive — — comitative — designeinemme second-person plural possessor singular plural nominative designinne designinne accusative nom. designinne designinne gen. designinne genitive designinne designienne partitive designiänne designejänne inessive designissänne designeissänne elative designistänne designeistänne illative designiinne designeihinne adessive designillänne designeillänne ablative designiltänne designeiltänne allative designillenne designeillenne essive designinänne designeinänne translative designiksenne designeiksenne abessive designittänne designeittänne instructive — — comitative — designeinenne third-person possessor singular plural nominative designinsä designinsä accusative nom. designinsä designinsä gen. designinsä genitive designinsä designiensä partitive designiään designiänsä designejään designejänsä inessive designissään designissänsä designeissään designeissänsä elative designistään designistänsä designeistään designeistänsä illative designiinsä designeihinsä adessive designillään designillänsä designeillään designeillänsä ablative designiltään designiltänsä designeiltään designeiltänsä allative designilleen designillensä designeilleen designeillensä essive designinään designinänsä designeinään designeinänsä translative designikseen designiksensä designeikseen designeiksensä abessive designittään designittänsä designeittään designeittänsä instructive — — comitative — designeineen designeinensä

Derived terms

compounds

• design-huume
• designhuume
• design-päihde
• designtuote

Further reading

• “design”, in Kielitoimiston sanakirja [Dictionary of Contemporary Finnish]‎^[4] (in Finnish) (online dictionary, continuously updated), Kotimaisten kielten keskuksen verkkojulkaisuja 35, Helsinki: Kotimaisten kielten tutkimuskeskus (Institute for the Languages of Finland), 2004–, retrieved 2 July 2023

French

Etymology

Borrowed from English design. Doublet of dessein.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /di.zajn/

Noun

design m (plural designs)

1. design

Hungarian

Alternative forms

• dizájn

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English design, from Latin designō (“to mark out, describe, plan”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈdizaːjn]
• Hyphenation: de‧sign
• Rhymes: -aːjn

Noun

design (countable and uncountable, plural designok)

1. design (art and profession of designing functional objects such as furniture, vehicles, household appliances, etc.)

   Synonym: formatervezés

Declension

Inflection (stem in -o-, back harmony)

	singular	plural
nominative	design	designok
accusative	designt	designokat
dative	designnak	designoknak
instrumental	designnal	designokkal
causal-final	designért	designokért
translative	designná	designokká
terminative	designig	designokig
essive-formal	designként	designokként
essive-modal	—	—
inessive	designban	designokban
superessive	designon	designokon
adessive	designnál	designoknál
illative	designba	designokba
sublative	designra	designokra
allative	designhoz	designokhoz
elative	designból	designokból
delative	designról	designokról
ablative	designtól	designoktól
non-attributive possessive – singular	designé	designoké
non-attributive possessive – plural	designéi	designokéi

Possessive forms of design

possessor	single possession	multiple possessions
1st person sing.	designom	designjaim
2nd person sing.	designod	designjaid
3rd person sing.	designja	designjai
1st person plural	designunk	designjaink
2nd person plural	designotok	designjaitok
3rd person plural	designjuk	designjaik

Derived terms

See at dizájn.

Further reading

• dizájn in Nóra Ittzés, editor, A magyar nyelv nagyszótára [A Comprehensive Dictionary of the Hungarian Language] (Nszt.), Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 2006–2031 (work in progress; published a–ez as of 2026).

Italian

Etymology

Borrowed from English design.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /deˈzajn/
• Rhymes: -ajn

Noun

design m (invariable)

1. design (industrial)

Anagrams

• sdegni

Norwegian Bokmål

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /deˈsaɪn/, /dɪˈsaɪn/, /diˈsaɪn/

Verb

design

1. imperative of designe

Polish

Alternative forms

• dizajn

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English design, from Middle English designen, from Old French designer, from Latin dēsignō.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈdi.zajn/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -izajn
• Syllabification: de‧sign
• Homophone: dizajn

Noun

design m inan

1. (design) design (plan of usable objects)

   Synonyms: wzornictwo; wzornictwo przemysłowe

2. (design) design (appearance of usable objects)

   Hypernym: wygląd

Declension

Declension of design

	singular	plural
nominative	design	designy
genitive	designu	designów
dative	designowi	designom
accusative	design	designy
instrumental	designem	designami
locative	designie	designach
vocative	designie	designy

Related terms

adjective

• designerski

nouns

• designer
• designerka

Further reading

• “design”, in Wielki słownik języka polskiego‎^[5] (in Polish), Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• “design”, in Polish dictionaries at PWN‎^[6] (in Polish)

Portuguese

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *de

Proto-Indo-European *-h₁

Proto-Indo-European *déh₁

Proto-Italic *dē

Latin dē

Latin dē-

Proto-Indo-European *sek-?

Proto-Indo-European *-nóm

Proto-Italic *segnom

Proto-Indo-European *-h₂

Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂

Proto-Indo-European *-yéti

Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti

Proto-Indo-European *-h₂tiinflu.

Proto-Italic *-ājō

Proto-Italic *-āō

Proto-Italic *segnāō

Latin signō

Latin designōder.

Old French designerder.

Middle English designen

English designubor.

Portuguese design

Unadapted borrowing from English design. Doublet of desenhar and designar.

Pronunciation

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /deˈzaj.ni/ [deˈzaɪ̯.ni], /d͡ʒiˈzaj.ni/ [d͡ʒiˈzaɪ̯.ni]

Noun

design m (plural designs)

1. design (plan for the structure and functions of an object or system)

   Synonyms: projeto, desenho

2. design (aesthetically pleasing shape or appearance of an object)
3. design (the art of designing aesthetically pleasing things)

Further reading

• “design”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
• “design”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026

Romanian

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English design.

Noun

design n (uncountable)

1. design

Declension

singular only	indefinite	definite
nominative-accusative	design	designul
genitive-dative	design	designului
vocative	designule

Swedish

Etymology

Borrowed from English design. First attested in 1948.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dɛˈsajn/

Noun

design c

1. (countable, uncountable) design

   Synonym: (artistic) formgivning

Declension

Declension of design

		nominative	genitive
singular	indefinite	design	designs
	definite	designen	designens
plural	indefinite	designer	designers
	definite	designerna	designernas

Related terms

• designa
• designer
• designpris

References

• “design”, in Svensk ordbok [Dictionary of Swedish] (in Swedish)
• “design”, in Svenska Akademiens ordlista [Wordlist of the Swedish Academy] (in Swedish)

Anagrams

• gnides