"C" Word Origins

corroboration

Late Latin

From Late Latin corroboratio, "strengthening" — related to "corroborate".

corrode

Origin

From Middle English corrōden, that borrowed from Old French corroder or directly from Latin corrōdere (“to gnaw”), from con- (“completely”) + rōdere (“to gnaw”).

corrosion

Latin

From Old French corrosion, from Latin corrodere, "to gnaw away" — from com- ("thoroughly") plus rodere, "to gnaw".

corrosive

Old French

From Old French corrosif — related to "corrosion" and "corrode".

corrupt

Latin

From Latin corruptus, past participle of corrumpere, "to ruin or spoil" — from com- ("together, thoroughly") plus rumpere, "to break".

corruption

Latin

Borrowed from French corruption, from Latin corruptio — from the same root as "corrupt".

corruptocracy

Origin

From corrupt + -o- + -cracy.

corsage

Latin

Borrowed from French corsage, originally referring to the bodice of a dress — from the same root as "corpse" and "corps," ultimately Latin corpus, "body".

corse

Origin

From Middle English cors, from Old French cors, from Latin corpus (“body”). Doublet of corpus and corpse, and distantly of riff. Compare corset.

corset

Latin

From Old French corset, a diminutive of cors, "body" — ultimately from Latin corpus.

Corsica

Latin

Borrowed from Latin Corsica.

Corsican

Origin

From Corsica plus the suffix -an, meaning "belonging to."

Corso

Italian

Borrowed from Italian Corso.

cortege

Origin

Borrowed from French cortège.

Cortes

Spanish

From Spanish cortes, meaning "courts" or "courtly."

cortex

Latin

From Latin cortex, meaning "bark" or "rind" — the same word that gave us "cork."

Cortez

Spanish

From Spanish Cortez, variant of Cortés.

cortical

Latin

From Latin cortex ("bark"), plus the adjective ending -al.

cortina

Late Latin

From Late Latin cortina, "curtain" — it is actually a doublet of the word "curtain" itself.

cortisone

Latin

A shortened form of "corticosterone," itself built from Latin cortex ("bark," referring to the adrenal cortex) plus Greek-derived chemistry terms.

corundum

Origin

From Tamil குருந்தம் (kuruntam, “ruby, sapphire”) First attested in the early 18th century.

coruscate

Origin

From Latin coruscātus, perfect passive participle of coruscō (“to flash, gleam”), see -ate (verb-forming suffix).

coruscation

Origin

Borrowed from Latin coruscātiōnem, coruscātiō (“glitter, flash”).

corvette

French

Borrowed directly from French corvette, a term for a small warship.

Cory

Origin

Clipping of of translingual Corydoras.

corydoras

Origin

From the genus name.

coryza

Origin

Borrowed from Latin corȳza, from Ancient Greek κόρυζα (kóruza, “nasal mucus”).

cos

Greek

Shortened from "cos lettuce," a name traced back to the Greek island of Kos, where the variety was said to originate.

Cosby

Origin

From the Old English personal name *Cossa + Old Norse býr (“farm; settlement”).

cosexual

Origin

From co- + sexual.

Cosgrove

Irish

Two main origins: * English habitational surname from the village in Northamptonshire, which is named with the Old English personal name *Cōf + -s- + grāf (“grove, thicket”); recorded as Covesgrave in 1086 (DB). * Reduced Anglicized form of Irish Ó Coscraigh (“descendant of Coscrach”), a byname from coscrach (“victorious, triumphant”).

cosh

Origin

Probably from Romani košter (“stick”).

Cosima

Italian

From Italian, a feminine form of Cosimo.

cosiness

Origin

From cosy + -ness.

cosmas

Origin

From Latin Cosmas, from Ancient Greek Κοσμᾶς (Kosmâs), from κόσμος (kósmos). Doublet of Cosmo and related to cosmos.

cosmetic

Greek

From Greek kosmetikos, "skilled in ordering or decorating," from kosmos, meaning "order" or "adornment."

cosmetician

Origin

From cosmetics + -ician.

cosmetics

French

From French cosmétique, from Ancient Greek κοσμητική (kosmētikḗ, “the art of dress and ornament”), from κοσμητικός (kosmētikós), an adjective of κοσμέω (kosméō, “to order, to arrange, to rule, to adorn, to equip, to dress, to embellish”).

cosmic

Greek

From Greek kosmikos, related to kosmos ("universe, order").

cosmo

Origin

A clipped form of "cosmopolitan."

cosmocrat

Origin

From cosmo- (“world, universe”) + -crat (“ruler”), originally (in the plural) seemingly in reference to demonic powers in Ephesians 6:12; later used as a variant of cosmocrator, translating Ancient Greek κοσμοκράτωρ (kosmokrátōr) in various ancient texts.

cosmogenic

Origin

From cosmo- + -genic.

cosmogony

Origin

From Ancient Greek κοσμογονία (kosmogonía), from κόσμος (kósmos, “world”) + γόνος (gónos, “creation”). By surface analysis, cosmo- + -gony.

cosmological

Origin

From cosmology plus the adjective ending -ical.

cosmology

Greek

From Greek kosmos ("world, universe") plus -logia ("study of").

cosmonaut

Greek

From Russian kosmonavt, built from Greek kosmos ("universe") and nautes ("sailor") — the Russian counterpart to "astronaut."

cosmopolitan

Origin

From "cosmopolite" (citizen of the world) plus -an, echoing words like "metropolitan."

cosmopolitanism

Origin

From cosmopolitan + -ism. The sense referring obliquely to Jewishness comes from the long era in which all Jews lived in the Jewish diaspora because Jews had been banished from the ancient Jewish homeland and no new homeland yet existed. In Soviet use it was rooted in fear of transnationalism generally but took on coded or dogwhistle antisemitic qualities that were not explicitly separable from the generality.