'die' (verb) originates from Proto-Germanic, related to forms in Old Norse ('deyja') and other Germanic languages where the root meant 'to die'; 'die' (noun, gaming cube) originates from Old French 'dé', from Latin 'datum' meaning 'something given'.

'die' (v.) developed via Old English and other Germanic forms into Middle English and the modern verb 'die'. Separately, the noun 'die' (gaming cube) came into Middle English from Old French 'dé' (Latin 'datum') and became 'die' (singular) and 'dice' (plural) in English; the technical plural 'dies' later arose for tools (a different sense).

The verb sense originally meant 'to cease living' (a basic semantic core) and has retained that meaning in modern English; the noun sense shifted from Latin 'a thing given' to the sense of a gaming casting (a small cube) and later specialized to mean tooling/moulds in manufacturing.