"C" Word Origins

Christmas

Old English

From Old English Crīstes mæsse, literally \"Christ's mass\" — the church service celebrating Christ's birth.

Christmassy

Origin

From Christmas + the adjective-forming suffix -y.

Christmastime

Origin

From Christmas + time.

Christopher

Late Latin

From Late Latin Christophorus, from Koine Greek Khristóphoros, "carrier of Christ."

chromatography

Greek

From Greek khroma 'colour' and graphein 'to write', from the technique's first demonstrations separating plant pigments into visible coloured bands.

chrome

French

From French chrome, from Greek khrôma (\"colour\") — named for the vivid colours of chromium's compounds.

chromium

New Latin

From New Latin chromium, from French chrome, from Greek khrôma (\"colour\"), named for the striking colours of its various compounds.

chromo

Origin

Shortened from chromolithograph.

chromosome

German

From German Chromosom, built from Greek khrôma (\"colour\") + sôma (\"body\"), because the structures show up vividly when stained for viewing under a microscope.

chronic

Latin

From Old French cronique, from Latin chronicus, from Greek khronikós (\"of time\"), from khrónos (\"time\").

chronically

Origin

From chronic + the adverb-forming suffix -ally.

chronicle

Latin

From Old French cronique, from Latin chronica, from Greek khronikós (\"of time\"), from khrónos (\"time\").

chronicler

Origin

From chronicle + the agent suffix -er.

chronograph

Origin

From Ancient Greek χρονογράφος (khronográphos, “chronicler”). Equivalent to chrono- + -graph.

chronological

Greek

From chrono- (from Greek khrónos, \"time\") + logical, ultimately building on Greek lógos (\"study, account\").

chronological order

Greek

From Greek khronos 'time' and logos 'account, study', via chronology.

chronologist

Origin

From French chronologiste. By surface analysis, chronology + -ist.

chronometer

Origin

From chrono- + -meter, possibly after the model of earlier French chronomètre (“metronome”), ultimately from Ancient Greek χρόνος (khrónos, “time”) + μέτρον (métron, “meter, measuring device”).

Chronos

Greek

A learned borrowing from Greek khrónos (\"time\"), also the name of the personification of time in Greek myth.

chrysalis

Latin

From Latin chrysalis, from Greek khrusallís, related to khrusós (\"gold\") — likely a reference to the golden sheen of some species' pupal cases.

chrysanthemum

Latin

From Latin chrȳsanthemum, from Greek khrūsánthemon, literally \"golden flower\".

Chrysler

Origin · 1925

Named after Walter Chrysler, who founded the Chrysler Corporation in 1925.

chthonian

Origin

From Ancient Greek χθόνιος (khthónios, “in or under the ground”), from χθών (khthṓn, “ground”).

chthonic

Origin

From Ancient Greek χθών (khthṓn, “ground, soil”) + -ic.

chu

Chinese

The kiss-sound sense comes from Japanese ちゅっ (chu), an onomatopoeia; the historical sense refers to the ancient Chinese state of Chu.

chub

Middle English · 1500

From Middle English chubbe, the name of the river fish, later used from the 1500s as a nickname for a slow or lazy person, and eventually for anything short and thick.

chubby

Origin

From chub (a thick-bodied fish, also an old nickname for a plump person) + the adjective-forming suffix -y.

chuck

Origin

A variant of chock, originally meaning a block or wedge, which developed into both the drill-holding device and the meat cut.

Chuckie

Origin

From Chuck + -ie.

chuckle

Origin

From chuck (an old word meaning \"to laugh\" or make a clucking sound) + the frequentative suffix -le.

chucklehead

Origin

From chuckle + -head, from chuckle (“clumsy”).

chucklesome

Origin

From chuckle + -some.

Chucky

Origin

From Chuck + -y.

chuff

Origin

15th century, dialectal, from Middle English chuffe (“a rustic, boor”), in noun sense “stupid fellow”. Adjective sense “surly, displeased” from 1832.

chuffed

Origin · 1957

From a northern English dialect word chuff, meaning \"puffed up\" or swollen with pride; first recorded in this sense in 1957.

chug

Origin

Imitative of the sound made by a labouring steam engine.

chugger

Origin

A blend of charity and mugger, coined to describe pushy street fundraisers.

Chui

Origin

Romanization of Cantonese 崔 (ceoi1) and Hokkien 崔 (chhui). Doublet of Cui.

chum

Origin · 1600

Recorded from the late 17th century; origin uncertain, possibly a shortening of chamber-mate or related to comrade.

Chumley

Origin

A pronunciation spelling of Cholmondeley, now usually pronounced /t͡ʃʌmliː/. Cf. Chimley and Chulmleigh.

chummy

Origin

From chum (\"friend\") + the adjective-forming suffix -y.

chump

Origin

Origin unclear — likely a blend of "chunk" and "lump" (or "stump"), possibly related to "chub" (something chubby or thick).

chunder

Origin

Unknown and debated origin. Possibly a shortening of Chunder Loo, itself a presumed rhyming slang for spew (said to be derived from the cartoon character “Chunder Loo of Akim Foo”, drawn by Norman Lindsay for a series of boot-polish advertisements in the early 1900s), but the rhyming slang usage is not actually recorded. Alternatively, possibly from the nautical phrase "*Watch under!" ("Look out below!"), used to warn people on lower decks that someone above was vomiting over the side of the ship, though this is likewise unsubstantiated and may simply be due to folk etymology. Also possibly from tunder, a dialectal pronunciation of thunder; or borrowed from Scots *junder, junner, chunner (“to bump, knock against", also "to break or spill the contents of”), a frequentative form of jund, chund, jundie (“to jog, jostle, annoy, upset”). First attested in c. 1950.

Chung

Chinese

Romanization * From the McCune-Reischauer transliteration of Korean 정 (jeong), from Korean 鄭, 丁, 程. Doublet of Tee. * From transliteration of Chinese 宗, 程, 种, 仲, 钟, 鍾, 張, 张, 章, 蔣, 蒋, frequently originating from Hong Kong or Taiwan

chunk

Origin

Likely a variant of "chuck" or a diminutive form built on "chump" (in its "block" sense).

chunky

Origin

From chunk + the adjective-forming suffix -y.

chur

Origin

Modified from cheers.

church

Old English

From Old English cirice, ultimately from a Greek word meaning "belonging to the Lord" — the same root gives Scots kirk and German Kirche.