"E" Word Origins

e.g.

Latin

An abbreviation of Latin exempli gratia, literally "for the sake of example".

ea

Latin

From Old English ēa ("river"), related to Latin aqua and modern English "aquatic".

each

Old English

From Old English ǣlċ, a contraction of ǣġhwelċ, related in sense to "always" plus "which".

each other

Middle English

From Middle English ech other, yche othere, ich othir, eche other, ilk oþer, from Old English ǣlċ ōþer (“each other”), equivalent to each + other. Cognate with Scots ilk other (“each other”), West Frisian elkoar (“each other”), Dutch elkander, elkaar (“each other”).

eager

Latin

From Old French aigre ("sharp, keen"), from Latin acer — the same root behind "acid" and "acerbic".

eagerly

Middle English

From Middle English egerly; equivalent to eager + -ly.

eagerness

Middle English

From Middle English egernesse, egrenesse; equivalent to eager + -ness.

eagle

Latin

From Old French aigle, from Latin aquila — it replaced the native Old English word "earn" (still surviving as "erne").

eagleback

Origin

From eagle + back, modelled on horseback.

Eagleton

Origin

Variant of Eggleton.

Eames

Old English

Probably from the genitive form of Old English ēam ("maternal uncle").

Eamon

Old English

Borrowed from Irish Éamonn ("Edmund"), ultimately from Old English Ēadmund ("prosperity protector").

ear

Middle English

From Middle English eren, from Old English erian, from Proto-West Germanic *arjan, from Proto-Germanic *arjaną, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂erh₃- (“to plough”).

earball

Origin

From ear + ball. Noun sense 1 and the verb are modeled after eyeball.

eardrum

Origin

A compound of "ear" and "drum", named for its drum-like membrane.

earful

Origin

From ear + -ful.

Earhart

German

Anglicized borrowing of German Ehrhardt.

earl

Old English

From Old English eorl, related to Old Norse jarl — a doublet of the word "jarl" itself.

earlier

Old English

Comparative of 'early', from Old English 'ærlice', from 'ær' (soon, before).

early

Old English

From Old English ǣrlīċ, combining ere ("before") with the adjective suffix "-ly".

earlycomer

Origin

From early + comer.

earmark

Origin

The noun is derived from ear + mark. The verb is derived from the noun.

earmarked

English

From earmark, a notch or mark cut into the ear of a farm animal to show who owned it.

earn

Old English

From Old English earnian, ultimately linked to a root meaning "harvest" — earning something was originally tied to reaping a reward.

earnest

Old English

From Old English eornest, meaning "zeal, seriousness, or even battle", related to Germanic words for vigour and diligence.

earnestly

Old English

From Old English eornostlīċe, built from earnest plus the adverb ending -ly.

earnings

Origin

From earn plus the plural noun ending -ings.

Earp

Origin

The definitive origin is unclear. Some are proposed, including Old English eorp (“swarthy”), from Proto-Germanic *erpaz (“light brown”); or a connection to the placenames Ypres (Belgium) or Erpe (Netherlands).

earphone

Origin

From ear + phone.

earphones

Origin

Plural of earphone.

earpiece

Origin

From ear plus piece.

earring

Old English

From Old English ēarhring, literally "ear-ring" — a very old compound found across the Germanic languages.

earshot

Origin

From ear plus shot, on the model of "gunshot" — as far as the "shot" of sound can carry.

earsore

Origin

From ear + sore. Compare eyesore.

earsplitting

Origin

From ear + splitting.

earth

Old English

From Old English eorþe, an ancient Germanic word for soil, ground, and the world itself.

earthberry

Origin

From earth + berry. First attested in the 1800s, mostly in texts about or translated from German or other languages which use similar terms, of which it is likely a calque: German Erdbeere, Dutch aardbei, Danish jordbær, etc. Compare Old English eorþberġe (“strawberry”, literally “earthberry”). Also compare Polish poziomka, Russian земляни́ка (zemljaníka) (related to земля́ (zemljá)).

earthbound

Origin

From earth plus -bound ("tied to").

earthenware

Origin

From earthen + -ware, first recorded appearance in 1673. Compare Dutch aardewerk (“earthenware”).

earthhole

Origin

From Middle English eorthehole; equivalent to earth + hole. Akin to Scots ert hyle (“earthhole, pit”).

earthish

Origin

From earth + -ish. Compare Dutch aards (“earthish”), German irdisch (“earthish”), Danish jordisk (“earthish”), Swedish jordisk (“earthish”), Icelandic jarðeskur, jarðneskur (“earthish”).

Earthling

Origin

From earth plus -ling, a suffix meaning "one belonging to."

earthly

Old English

From Old English eorþlīċ, from earth plus -ly.

earthman

Origin

From Earth + man.

earthnut

Origin

Inherited from Middle English erthenote, from Old English eorþhnutu, from Proto-Germanic *erþōhnuts; equivalent to earth + nut.

earthquake

Old English

From Middle English erthequake, joining earth and quake; it replaced the older Old English word eorþbeofung.

earthscraper

Origin

From earth + -scraper.

earthwork

Origin

From earth + work. First attested in the 1630s.