"C" Word Origins

counterchange

Origin

From Middle French contrechange (noun), contrechanger (verb).

counterclockwise

Origin

From counter- + clockwise.

counterfactual

Origin

From counter- + factual.

counterfeit

Old French

From Old French contrefait, from contra- ("against") + facere ("to make") — literally "made in imitation."

counterfeiter

Origin

From counterfeit + -er.

counterintelligence

Origin

From counter- + intelligence.

countermand

Origin

From Old French contremander, from Medieval Latin contramandō, from contra + mandō (“to order; to command”).

countermeasure

Origin

From counter- + measure.

countermine

Origin

From counter- + mine.

counterpane

Origin

By serial alterations in Middle English, Middle French, and Old French, ultimately from Latin words meaning "stitched bedding" (culcita puncta).

counterpart

Middle English

From Middle English, originally meaning a duplicate copy of a legal document; from counter- + part.

counterpoint

Medieval Latin

From Medieval Latin contrāpūnctum, from counter- + point, originally referring to notes set "point against point."

counterpoison

Origin

From counter- + poison.

counterpotent

Origin

From counter- + potent.

counterproductive

Origin

From counter- + productive.

countersign

Origin

From Middle French contresigne. Equivalent to counter- + sign.

counterspell

Origin

From counter- + spell.

countertenor

Origin

From Latin contrātenor. By surface analysis, counter- + tenor.

countervail

Origin

From Anglo-Norman countrevaloir (Old French contrevaloir), from Latin contrā valēre (“to be strong against”).

counterwork

Origin

From counter- + work.

countess

Latin

From Old French contesse, from Latin comitissa, the feminine form of comes ("count").

countless

Origin

From count + -less.

country

Latin

From Old French contree, ultimately from Latin contrā ("against, facing") — originally meaning "the land lying opposite" or surrounding a place.

countryfolk

Origin

From country + folk.

countrylike

Origin

From country + -like.

countryman

Origin

From country + man.

countryside

Origin

From country + side.

county

Latin

From Anglo-Norman counté, from Latin comitātus ("jurisdiction of a count").

coup

Late Latin

From French coup ("blow, strike"), from Late Latin colpus — the same root that gives "cope" in one of its senses.

coupe

French

Borrowed from French coupe, related to the word "cup" — the glass sense and the car sense both trace back to this same French root, though they ended up meaning very different things.

couple

Latin

From Old French couple, from Latin copula meaning "a bond" or "tie" — the same root that gives us "copula" and "coupling."

couplet

Origin

From French couplet, from couple + -et. Doublet of cabaletta.

coupling

Middle English

From Middle English couplynge, formed from couple plus the suffix -ing.

coupon

French

From French coupon, from couper meaning "to cut" — coupons were originally literal slips cut off a larger sheet or certificate.

cour

Origin

Back-formation from cours from Japanese クール (kūru), from French cours. Attestable in English among the anime community from at least 2007. Anime News Network's Lexicon Encyclopedia dictates the original cours to be unchanged in singular form, though that has been reanalyzed as a plural form.

courage

Latin

From Old French corage, ultimately from Latin cor meaning "heart" — the same root behind "cardiac." The idea is that bravery comes from the heart.

courageous

Old French

From Old French corageus, built from corage ("courage") plus the adjective ending -eus.

courageously

Origin

Formed from courageous plus the adverb-forming suffix -ly.

courgette

Origin

Unadapted borrowing from French courgette, diminutive of courge (“vegetable marrow, marrow squash”). Ultimately related to zucchini through Latin cucurbita.

courier

Old French

From Old French coreor (an agent noun of corir, "to run") merging with Middle French courrier, itself from Italian corriere — all ultimately about someone who runs or travels to deliver something.

course

Latin

From Old French cours, from Latin cursus ("a running, a course"), from currere ("to run") — the same root behind "current" and "cursor."

coursebook

Origin

From course + book.

coursemate

Origin

From course + mate.

coursework

Origin

From course + work.

court

Late Latin

From Old French cort/curt, from Late Latin cōrs, related to Latin cohors — the same root that gives us "cohort."

courted

Origin

Formed from court plus the past-tense ending -ed.

courtenay

Origin

From Latin Curtenus, from curtus (“short”), via Norman.

courteous

Old French

From Old French curteis (meaning "of the court"), reflecting the polished manners expected of people at a royal court.