"C" Word Origins

Corcoran

Irish

From Irish Ó Corcráin (literally “descendant of Corcrán”). Variant of Cochrane.

cord

Latin

From Old French corde, from Latin chorda, from Greek khorde ("gut-string"), the same root that gives us "chord."

Cordelia

Origin

Shakespeare's spelling of a historical British name appearing as Cordeilla, etc., possibly derived from the Latin saint's name Cordula.

Cordero

Spanish

From Spanish cordero, meaning "lamb."

cordial

Medieval Latin

From Medieval Latin cordialis ("of the heart"), from Latin cor ("heart") — originally a "cordial" was something believed to strengthen the heart.

cordially

Origin

From cordial plus the adverb suffix -ly.

cording

Origin

From cord + -ing.

cordless

Origin

From cord plus -less ("without").

cordon

Middle French

From Middle French cordon, a diminutive of corde ("cord"), reflecting the original idea of a rope or ribbon marking a boundary.

Cordova

Spanish

Borrowed from Spanish Córdoba.

cords

Origin

As "corduroy trousers," a shortening of corduroys; otherwise simply the plural of cord.

corduroy

French · 1600

Origin is disputed. It probably comes from "cord" plus "duroy," a coarse English fabric from the 1600s — not, as often claimed, from French for "cloth of the king," a phrase that doesn't actually exist in French.

cordy

Origin

Simply "cord" plus the adjective-forming suffix "-y", the same pattern as "silky" from silk.

core

Latin

From Middle English "core," meaning the pith or heart of a fruit, ultimately of uncertain origin — possibly related to Old French "cuer" ("heart"), from Latin "cor."

coregency

Origin

From co- + regency.

corequisite

Origin

From co- + requisite.

Corey

Old Norse

From an English surname traced back through Old Norse to an Old Irish word for "troop" or "company."

Corfu

Italian

Borrowed from Italian Corfù, from Ancient Greek Κορυφώ (Koruphṓ), from κορυφή (koruphḗ) ("summit", "mountain peak"). Named after the twin peaks of the Old Fortress of Corfu.

coriander

Latin

From Old French "coriandre," from Latin "coriandrum," borrowed from Greek "koriandron" — its ultimate origin is unclear.

Corinna

Greek

From Greek kore, meaning "maiden" or "girl."

Corinne

Ancient Greek

From French Corinne, tracing back to Ancient Greek kore, meaning "girl" or "maiden."

Corinth

Latin

From Latin "Corinthus," from Greek "Korinthos." The small dried-grape sense is a doublet of "currant."

corinthian

Origin

From Latin Corinthius + -an. By surface analysis, Corinth + -ian. The senses related to opulence or debauchery derive from the reputation of ancient Corinth.

cork

Dutch

From Middle Dutch "curc," probably from Spanish "corcho." A doublet of "cortex."

corkscrew

Origin

A compound of "cork" and "screw," describing the tool's spiral screw shape.

corky

Origin

From "cork" plus the adjective-forming suffix "-y."

corm

Origin

From scientific Latin cormus, from Ancient Greek κορμός (kormós, “trunk stripped of its boughs”).

cormorant

Origin

PIE word *ḱorh₂wós From Middle English cormeraunt (“great cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo); other types of aquatic bird”) [and other forms], from Old French cormaran, cor-maraunt [and other forms] (modern French cormoran), possibly variants of *corp-marin, from Medieval Latin corvus marīnus (literally “sea-raven”), with the ending -morant possibly derived from French moran (“marine, maritime”), from Breton mor (“sea”), with -an corrupted in English to -ant. Latin corvus is ultimately derived from Proto-Indo-European *ḱorh₂wós (“raven”), which is imitative of the harsh cry of the bird; while marīnus (“of or pertaining to the sea, marine”) is from Latin mare (“sea”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *móri (“sea; standing water”), possibly from *mer- (“sea; lake; wetland”)) + -īnus (suffix meaning ‘of or pertaining to’). Cognates * Catalan corbmari * Occitan corpmari * Portuguese corvomarinho

corn

Old English

From Old English "corn," from a Proto-Germanic root meaning "grain," ultimately related to a root meaning "worn down" or "ground." A doublet of "grain" and "granum." The specific American sense of "maize" grew out of the older phrase "Indian corn."

cornball

Origin

From corn + ball.

corncob

Origin

From corn + cob. The Internet slang sense emerged from a 2011 absurdist tweet by Weird Twitter personality dril in which a man furiously denies being owned as he transforms into a corncob.

cornea

Latin

From Latin "cornea tela" ("horny tissue"), from "cornu" ("horn"), describing its tough, translucent texture.

corned

Origin

From "corn" (in the old sense of small granules of salt) plus "-ed."

Cornelia

Latin

From Latin Cornēlia, name of a famous Roman matron, feminine form of the gens name Cornelius; in continental Europe, also a feminine form of the saint's name Cornelius.

Cornelius

Latin

Borrowed from Latin Cornēlius.

Cornell

Origin

From Cornwall, spelling conflated with the Latin family name Cornelius.

corner

Latin

From Anglo-Norman "corner," ultimately from Latin "cornu" ("horn," and by extension "point" or "tip").

cornerstone

Middle English

From Middle English "corner ston"; the figurative sense echoes a well-known biblical image found in Psalms and repeated in the New Testament.

cornet

Latin

From Old French "cornet," a diminutive form ultimately from Latin "cornu" ("horn").

cornfed

Origin

A compound of "corn" and "fed."

cornfield

Origin

A compound of "corn" and "field."

cornflakey

Origin

From cornflake + -y.

cornhole

Origin

From corn + hole. (anus): From the old-fashioned practice of using dried corncobs instead of toilet paper in outdoor privies.

cornhusk

Origin

From corn + husk.

cornhusking

Origin

From cornhusk + -ing or corn + husking.

cornigerous

Origin

From Latin cornu (“horn”) + -gerous.

Cornish

Origin

From "Corn(wall)" plus "-ish."

cornmeal

Origin

From corn + meal.