"C" Word Origins

choon

Origin

A phonetic spelling of "tune," popular in British dance and club culture slang.

choose

Old English

From Old English ċēosan ("to choose, select, test"), from a very old Indo-European root meaning "to taste or try."

choosy

Origin

From choose plus the adjective-forming suffix -y.

chop

Middle English

From Middle English choppen, of uncertain origin — possibly imitative of the sound, or a variant of chap ("to crack").

chophouse

Origin

From chop + house. For Chinese customs sense, see chop (“quality”).

Chopin

French

Borrowed from French chopine, an old measure for wine or beer. Also a well-known surname, as in the composer Frédéric Chopin.

chopine

Origin

Borrowed from French chopine, diminutive of chope + -ine. Doublet of chopin.

chopped

Origin

From chop plus the past-participle ending -ed.

chopper

Origin

From chop plus the agent suffix -er, meaning "thing that chops."

choppy

Origin

From chop plus the adjective-forming suffix -y.

Chopra

Origin

Borrowed from Punjabi ਚੋਪੜਾ (copṛā).

chops

Origin

From the plural of chop (“jaw, side of a harbour”). The jazz slang sense “musical ability” is a reference to the use of the lips to blow instruments.

chopstick

Chinese

A compound of chop and stick, though the exact meaning of "chop" here is disputed — an older theory linking it to Chinese Pidgin English "chop-chop" (quick) is now considered too late to fit the word's history.

chopsticks

Origin

Originally called The Celebrated Chop Waltz, because of the chopping motion of the fingers on the keys.

choral

Late Latin

From Late Latin choralis, from Latin chorus.

chorale

Origin

Borrowed from German Choral.

chord

Ancient Greek

A respelling of cord, altered under the influence of Latin chorda ("string of a lyre"), from Ancient Greek khordḗ.

chore

Old English

From an earlier form char/chare, from Old English cierran ("to turn"), the same root that gives us "char" in "charwoman."

choreographer

Origin

From choreograph plus the agent suffix -er.

choreography

Ancient Greek

Borrowed from French chorégraphie, from Ancient Greek khoreía ("dance") plus -graphia ("writing, recording").

chorion

Origin

From Late Latin chorion, from Ancient Greek χόριον (khórion, “membrane surrounding the fetus, afterbirth”).

chorizo

Spanish

Borrowed directly from Spanish chorizo.

chorus

Ancient Greek

From Latin chorus, "group of dancers and singers," from Ancient Greek khorós.

chose

Middle French

From Middle French chose, from Latin causa (“cause, reason”). Doublet of cause.

chosen

Old English

From Old English coren, the past participle of ċēosan ("to choose"), later reshaped to match the verb choose.

chosenness

Origin

From chosen + -ness.

chou

French

From French chou ("cabbage"), the name transferring to the pastry because of its round, cabbage-like shape.

chow

Chinese

Shortened from chow-chow, from Chinese Pidgin English.

chowchow

Origin

Borrowed from Chinese Pidgin English chow-chow (“food”). Compare Macanese chau-cháu.

chowder

Late Latin

Probably from French chaudière ("cooking pot"), from Late Latin caldaria, related to the same root as "cauldron."

chowderheaded

Origin

From chowder + headed.

Choy

Origin

Variant of Choi.

chrissake

Origin

A worn-down, casual pronunciation of "Christ's sake."

chrissakes

Origin

A further-worn variant of "Christ's sake," with an extra -s added the way "for goodness sakes" sometimes gets one.

Chrissie

Origin

from Chris + -ie, through clipping of Christine or Christina

Christ

Ancient Greek

From Latin Christus, from Ancient Greek Khristós ("the anointed one"), itself a translation of the Hebrew word behind "messiah."

Christa

Origin

Contraction of Christina and Christiana. Rare until the second half of the 20th century, reinforced by the German Christa.

Christabel

Middle English

From Middle English Cristabelle, from Crist ("Christ") and -bel ("beauty").

christen

Old English

From Old English cristnian, "to baptise," built from cristen ("Christian") plus a verb-forming ending.

Christendom

Old English

From Old English cristendōm, built from Christen plus the suffix -dom ("state, domain").

christening

Old English

From Old English cristnung, related to christen.

Christensen

Origin

Borrowed from Danish and Norwegian Christensen.

Christer

Origin

From "Christ" plus the agent suffix "-er."

Christian

Latin

From Old French chrestien, from Latin Christianus, from Greek Khristianós ("follower of Christ").

Christianity

Latin

From Old French crestienté, ultimately from Latin christianus (\"Christian\"), from Greek Khristianós, from Khristós (\"Christ, the anointed one\").

Christie

Origin

Named after the city of Kristiania, the former name of Oslo, Norway, where the turn is said to have originated.

Christina

Latin

Shortened from Latin Chrīstiāna ("Christian woman"); doublet of Kirsten.

Christine

French

Borrowed from French Christine. Doublet of Christina.