Etymology
From Middle English dechen, from Old English dēċan (“to smear, plaster, daub”), from Proto-West Germanic *dōkijan (“to apply with a rag or cloth, smear”), from *dōk (“cloth, rag”), from Proto-Germanic *dōkaz (“rag”); see duck (“canvas, cloth”). Cognate with Dutch doeken, German tuchen.
For the noun sense, compare gound.