"C" Word Origins

creak

Old English

From Old English cearcian, "to creak or gnash," of imitative origin — the word was likely invented to sound like the noise it describes.

cream

Late Latin

From Old French cresme, a blend of a Late Latin word for "ointment" and a Gaulish word for "cream" — the cosmetic and dairy senses share this same root.

creamcups

Origin

From cream + cups, from its white and yellow flowers.

creamed

Origin

See cream (verb)

creamer

Origin

From cream + the agent suffix -er, "a thing that creams or holds cream."

creamery

Origin

From French crémerie, reformed as cream + -ery.

creamy

Origin

From cream + -y, "having the quality of cream."

creance

Origin

From Middle English creaunce, from Old French creance. See credence.

crease

Origin

From an earlier English spelling related to crest, "ridge" — a crease was originally thought of as a small ridge left in folded fabric.

creasy

Origin

From crease + -y.

creatableness

Origin

From creatable + -ness. First attested in 1900.

create

Latin

From Latin creatus, the past participle of creare, "to bring forth or produce" — it replaced older English words like "shape" and "work" in this sense.

creation

Latin

From Latin creatio, "a making or producing," from creare, "to create."

creationarily

Origin

From creationary + -ly.

creationistic

Origin

From creationist + -ic.

creative

Late Latin

From Late Latin creativus, from Latin creare, "to create."

creativity

Origin

From creative + -ity, forming the abstract noun.

Creator

Latin

From Latin creator, "one who creates," from creare.

creatorship

Origin

From creator + -ship.

creature

Latin

From Latin creatura, "a created thing," from creare, "to create" — originally used for anything that had been made, before narrowing to living beings.

crèche

French

From French crèche 'manger, crib', ultimately of Germanic origin and related to English crib.

cred

Origin · 1900

An informal shortening of "credibility" or "credentials", popularised in youth and street slang from the late 20th century.

credence

Latin

From Old French credence, tracing back to Latin credentia ("belief"), from credere, "to believe" — the same root that gives us "credit" and "creed".

credential

Origin

From Medieval Latin crēdentiālis (“giving authority”), from Latin crēdentia (“trust”).

credenza

Origin

Borrowed from Italian credenza. Doublet of credence.

credibility

Latin

Borrowed via French from Latin credibilitas, ultimately from credere, "to believe" — built on the same root as "credible" and "credit".

credible

Latin

From Latin credibilis, "worthy of belief", from credere, "to believe" — the same root behind "credit" and "credence".

credit

Latin

From Middle French crédit, from Latin creditum, "a loan", from credere, "to believe" — the underlying idea is trust that a debt will be repaid.

credited

Latin

From Latin credere (“to trust in”).

creditor

Latin

From Anglo-Norman creditour, from Latin creditor, from creditum, "a loan" — the mirror image of a "debtor".

creditworthy

Origin

From credit + -worthy.

credo

Latin

From Latin credo, "I believe" — the opening word of the Nicene Creed, and a doublet of the English word "creed".

credulity

Origin

Inherited from Middle English credulite (“faith, belief”), borrowed from Middle French credulité (French crédulité), from Latin crēdulitās. Corresponding to credulous + -ity (compare credulosity).

credulous

Origin

Originated in 1576, borrowed from Latin crēdulus (“that easily believes a thing, credulous”), from crēdō (“to believe”).

Cree

French

From a French rendering of Cree Kenisteniwuik or a related Algonquin term, later shortened by French traders to "Cris".

creed

Latin

From Old English creda, from Latin credo, "I believe" — the same root as "credit" and "credo".

creek

Middle English

From Middle English crike, likely from Old Norse kriki — originally meaning a coastal inlet, the sense later broadened (especially in American and Australian English) to cover any small inland stream.

creel

Old French

From Northern Middle English crele, possibly related to an Old French word for a lattice or grille.

creep

Old English

From Old English creopan, "to crawl", from a prehistoric Germanic root meaning "to twist" — related to "crawl" and "cripple".

creeper

Old English

From Old English creopere, formed from creep + -er — "one that creeps".

creeping

Middle English

From Middle English crepynge, crepinde, crepende, crepande, from Old English crēopende, from Proto-Germanic *kreupandz, present participle of Proto-Germanic *kreupaną (“to creep, crawl”), equivalent to creep + -ing.

creepy

Old English

From creep + the adjective suffix -y, tracing to Old English creopan, "to crawl" — the sensation of skin crawling gave rise to the modern meaning.

Creighton

Origin

A variant of Crichton.

cremate

Latin · 1800

From Latin cremare, "to burn up", first used in English in this sense in the late 19th century.

cremation

Latin

From Latin crematio, built on cremare, "to burn" — the same root as "cremate".

crematorium

New Latin

From New Latin crematorium, "a place for burning" — built on the same root as "cremate".

crematory

Origin

From cremate + -ory.

crempog

Origin

Borrowed from Welsh crempog.