"C" Word Origins

Borrowed from French cerise (mid 19th century), itself from Vulgar Latin ceresia, from Latin cerasium. Doublet of cherry and kirsch.

From the French acronym for the Conseil Européen pour la Recherche Nucléaire.

From Old French certain, from a Latin root related to certus ("fixed, settled, sure").

From Middle English certeynly; equivalent to certain + -ly.

From Middle English certeynte (“surety”), from Anglo-Norman certeinte, from Old French certeinete, from Vulgar Latin *certānitās, from Latin certus.

Formed from certify + -able.

From Old French certificat, ultimately from Medieval Latin certificatum, related to certify.

From Old French certefier ("to confirm, make certain").

From Latin caeruleus (“blue”) + -an, from caelum (“sky, heaven”) + -uleus (diminutive suffix).

By surface analysis, cerule + -escent.

Borrowed from Spanish Cervantes; see there for more.

From Latin cervix ("neck") + the adjective suffix -al, via French cervical.

Borrowed directly from Latin cervix, meaning "neck".

Anglicized spelling of Spanish César, a doublet of Caesar.

From Caesar + -ean, but see also Caesarean section § Etymology.

The chair is named after the designer's (Marcel Breuer) daughter Francesca.

From Latin cessatio, related to cease.

From Middle French cession, from Latin cessionem, from past participle of cēdere (“to yield”). By surface analysis, cede + -sion.

Named after Clyde Cessna (1879-1954), who founded the American aircraft company that still bears his name.

Uncertain. The first part, cess-, is undoubtedly the same as for cesspool, whose origin is likewise uncertain. The second part is pit, a hole in the ground.

Origin disputed. It may combine an old Italian word for a toilet with English "pool," though several other, more roundabout, theories exist too.

From New Latin Cestoda, from cestus (“girdle, belt”), from Ancient Greek κεστός (kestós, “of Aphrodite’s charmed girdle”).

From translingual Cetacea, from Latin cētus (“whale”), + -an.

Borrowed from Spanish cebiche; the word's deeper origin beyond that is uncertain.

From Portuguese Ceilão, tracing back through Old French, Persian, Pali, and ultimately Sanskrit siṃhala.

An abbreviation of Latin confer, the imperative of conferre 'to bring together, compare'.

An initialism; the expansion depends on context, most commonly chronic fatigue syndrome or cubic feet per second.

From Chinese cha (茶, "tea"), which spread into English through Cantonese and Hindustani/Persian routes — a doublet of the word "tea," which entered English via a different Chinese dialect.

Named after the French town of Chablis, in Burgundy, where the wine is produced.

Borrowed from Georgian chacha.

Borrowed from Spanish Chaco.

From the Old English name Ceadda; the "alpha male" slang sense emerged from a stereotype about men named Chad, spreading widely through internet slang in the late 2010s.

From Old English Ceadda ("Chad") combined with Old Norse vík ("bay, inlet").

Borrowed from Korean 채 (Chae).

From Old English ceaf, related to similar words for grain husks in other Germanic languages.

From Middle English chaffare (“a bargain, a trade”, noun), equivalent to cheap + fare.

From French chagrin (“sorrow”), from Middle French chagrin (“pain, affliction”) (compare Middle French chagriner, chagrigner (“to experience sorrow”), Old French chagrin (“painful, afflicted”)), probably derived from Old Northern French chagreiner, chagraigner (“to sadden”), of uncertain origin. Likely an enlargement of Old French greignier, graignier (“to cringe, growl, be sullen, be angry, grieve over”), from Old French graigne (“sadness, resentment, grief”), from graim (“sorrowful”), related to Old High German gram (“furious, gloomy, grieved”). The initial syllable is obscure. It may represent Old French chat (“cat”) to express the idea of "lamenting or yowling like cats" (compare German Katzenjammer (“distress, frustration, depression, chagrin”, literally “cat-wailing, cat-misery”), katzbalgen (“to cat-fight”)). An alternative theory is that it came from a metaphorical use of French chagrin, (peau de) chagrain (“a type of roughened leather”), with the connection of roughness, though some dictionaries consider this to be a separate word derived from Old French peau de sagrin, from Ottoman Turkish صاغری (sağrı, “the rump of an animal, skin for tawing”). The alteration of initial

From Hindi/Urdu chai, itself borrowed from Persian and ultimately from the same Chinese root as "tea."

From Hebrew chayyim, meaning "life."

From Old French chaine, from Latin catena ("chain") — the same root that gives us "catenary" and "concatenate."

A compound of "chain" and "saw," describing its rotating chain of cutting teeth.

From chain + work.

From Old French chaiere, from Latin cathedra ("seat"), from Greek kathedra — the same root behind "cathedral" and "chaise."

A compound of "chair" and "-man," dating to the head of a meeting who traditionally sat in the chief seat.

Formed from "chair" plus "person," coined as a neutral alternative to "chairman" and "chairwoman."

Formed from "chair" plus "-woman," on the model of "chairman."

Borrowed directly from French chaise ("chair") — a doublet of "chair" and "cathedra."

From Sanskrit chakra, meaning "wheel" or "disc."