"C" Word Origins

courteously

Origin

From Middle English curteisly, curteisliche; equivalent to courteous + -ly.

courter

Origin

From court + -er.

courtesan

Middle French

From Middle French courtisane, from Italian cortigiana (feminine of cortigiano, "courtier"), ultimately from "court."

courtesy

Old French

From Old French curteisie/cortoisie, related to courteous, ultimately tied to "court" and the manners expected there.

courthouse

Origin

A compound of court and house.

courtier

Old French

From Old French cortoiier, related to "court" plus the agent suffix -ier.

Courtney

Latin

Variant of Courtenay, an aristocratic Norman surname derived from place names in Normandy, from Latin Curtenus, a personal name from curtus (“short”).

courtroom

Origin

A compound of court and room.

courtship

Origin

Formed from court plus the suffix -ship, which turns it into a noun describing a state or process.

courtside

Origin

Formed from court plus side.

courtyard

Origin

Formed from court plus yard.

couscous

French

Borrowed from French couscous, which came from Arabic kuskus, itself likely from a Berber language.

cousin

Latin

From Old French cosin, ultimately from Latin cōnsobrīnus, meaning a cousin on the mother's side — from con- ("together") plus sobrīnus ("maternal relative").

cousins

Origin

From cousin + -s (suffix forming pluralia tantum, regular plurals of nouns, and the third-person singular indicative present tense forms of verbs). The plural noun noun 1 sense 1 (“American or British intelligence services”) was popularized in the works of the English author John le Carré (David John Moore Cornwell; 1930–2020).

couture

French

A shortening of the French phrase haute couture, literally "high sewing" — the practice of hand-crafted, custom fashion.

cove

Old English

From Old English cofa, meaning "chamber" or "den" — the sense narrowed over time to describe a small sheltered inlet or hollow.

coven

Latin

From Old French covent, ultimately from Latin conveniō ("to come together") — it's actually a doublet of the word "convent," which took a more religious path in meaning.

covenant

Latin

From Old French covenant, from Latin conveniēns ("agreeing"), the present participle of convenire ("to agree, to come together") — related to "convenient" and "convene."

covent

Old French

From Old French covent, an earlier form of what became "convent" in modern English — most familiar today in the London place name Covent Garden.

Coventry

Middle English

Inherited from Middle English Coventre, from Old English Cofentrēo, Cofantrēo, of obscure origin. Believed to be derived from an Anglo-Saxon named Cofa, hence Cofantrēo (literally “Cofa's tree”). Traditionally, yet baselessly outside its history, tempted to be linked to English covenant.

cover

Late Latin

From Old French covrir, from Late Latin coperire, ultimately from Latin cooperiō ("to cover completely") — built from co- (intensive prefix) plus operiō ("to close, cover").

coverage

Origin · 1912

Formed from cover plus the noun-forming suffix -age; first recorded around 1912.

coverall

Origin

From cover + all.

coveralls

Origin

Formed from cover plus all, describing a garment that covers the whole body.

covered

Origin

Formed from cover plus the past-tense/adjective ending -ed.

covering

Middle English

From Middle English coverynge, the verbal noun form of cover.

coverlet

Origin

From Middle English coverlite, from Anglo-Norman cuver-lit, formed on cuvrir (“to cover”) + lit (“bed”). Cognate with Catalan cobrellit.

covert

Old French

From Old French covert, meaning "covered" — the same root as the verb "cover."

covertly

Middle English

From Middle English covertli, equivalent to covert + -ly.

covet

Latin

From Old French covoitier ("to desire"), ultimately linked to the Latin word for greed, cupiditas.

covetous

Origin

From Middle English coveitous, from Anglo-Norman *cuveitus, from Medieval Latin as if *cupiditosus, from Latin cupiditas (“desire”); see covet.

covetousness

Origin

From Middle English covatusnes, covetousnes, coveytousnesse; equivalent to covetous + -ness.

covey

Origin

The noun is derived from Middle English covei, covey (“brood of partridges, covey; volley of shot; kind of gun”) [and other forms], from Old French covée (“brood (of chickens), clutch”) (modern French couvée), a noun use of the feminine past participle of cover (“to brood (an egg)”) (modern French couver), from Latin cubāre, the present active infinitive of cubō (“to lie down, recline; to incubate; to be broody”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱewb- (“to lie down”). The verb is derived from the noun. Cognates French couvée (“brood (of chickens), clutch”), couver (“to brood (an egg)”) Italian covata (“brood, clutch, covey, hatch”), covare (“to brood or incubate (an egg)”)

cow

Latin

From Old English cu, going back to a very old Indo-European root also seen in Latin bos (giving us "beef") and Greek bous.

cowabunga

Origin · 1950

Popularized in American children's TV in the 1950s, later linked to surfing culture, and made famous worldwide by the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon.

cowan

Origin · 1500

First recorded in Scots in the late 1500s; its exact origin is debated, but it entered Masonic vocabulary as a term for an outsider or uninitiated pretender.

coward

Old French

From Old French coart, built from coue ("tail"), likely picturing an animal fleeing with its tail between its legs — unrelated to "cower," despite the similar spelling.

cowardice

Middle English

From Middle English cowardise, borrowed from Anglo-Norman cuardise (modern French couardise).

cowardly

Middle English

From Middle English *cowardly (adjective) and cowardly (adverb), equivalent to coward + -ly. Displaced native Old English earg.

cowboy

Origin

Simply cow + boy, referring to someone who works cattle.

cowcatcher

Origin

From cow + catcher.

cowed

Origin

* Probable origins are Scandinavian, cf. Danish kue, to subdue.

Cowell

Origin

* As an Irish and Manx surname, shortened from McCawell, Anglicized from Mac Cathmhaoil (“son of Cathmhaol”), meaning "battle chief," see Caulfield. * Also as an Irish surname, shortened from Mac (Giolla) Comhghaill (“son of (the devotee of) Saint Comhghal”), see Cool. * Also as an Irish surname, shortened from McCool. * As an English surname, from several places named Cowhill, analyzable as cow + hill, or from Cowleigh in Worcestershire, equivalent to cow + Leigh. * Also as an English surname, variant of Cole. * As a Polish, Carpathian Rusyn and Jewish surname, Americanized from Kowal.

cower

Middle English

From Middle English couren, related to Germanic words meaning "to lie in wait" or "to squat" — unrelated to "coward," despite the similar look.

cowgirl

Origin

From cow + girl, the female counterpart of cowboy.

cowhand

Origin

From cow + hand, or perhaps blend of cowboy + farmhand.

cowherd

Origin

From Middle English couherde, from Old English cūhierde, equivalent to cow + herd (“herder”). Doublet of Coward (the surname). Cognate with German Kuhhirte (“cowherd”). Compare shepherd, goatherd, swineherd, etc.

cowl

Latin

From Old English cugele, from Latin cucullus meaning "hood." Related to "cagoule."