"E" Word Origins

elsewhere

Middle English

From Middle English elswher, from Old English elles hwǣr and elles hwerġen (“elsewhere”); corresponding with else + where. Cognate with Old High German alleswār (“elsewhere”), whence Middle High German alleswā, alswā (“elsewhere”).

Elsie

Origin

From a Scottish diminutive of Alison/Alice and Elspeth/Elizabeth.

elt

Origin

From Middle English elten (“to mold, knead, work”), from Old Norse elta (“to chase, hunt, knead”), from Proto-Germanic *alatjaną (“to drive, force, move”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁elh₂- (“to drive, move, go”). Cognate with Danish ælte (“to knead”), Swedish älta (“to dwell upon, brood, stir, knead”), Norwegian elte (“to knead”), Norwegian elta (“to pursue, plod”), Icelandic elta (“to chase”).

Elton

Old English

From a number of sources, including: # For the places in Cheshire, County Durham, and Derbyshire, England: from Old English ēl (“eel”) + tūn (“farm, village”) since the village is situated above a small stream. Less likely, from Old English personal name Ella + tūn. # For the place in Cambridgeshire, England: from Middle English Adelintune, from Old English æþeling (“prince”) + tūn (“estate”). # For the place in Gloucestershire, England: from Middle English Elwinton, from Old English personal name Ælfwine + tūn (“estate”). # For the place in Herefordshire, England: from Middle English Elintona, from Old English *æling (“eel fishery”) + tūn (“estate”), in reference to nearby Wigmore Lake. # For the place in Nottinghamshire, England, see Elton on the Hill.

elucidate

Latin

From Late Latin elucidare, from e- "out" and lucidus "clear, bright".

elucubrate

Origin

From the past participle of Latin elucubrare (“compose by lamplight”).

elude

Latin

From Latin eludere, "to trick or dodge" — built from ex- ("out") and ludere ("to play").

elusive

Latin

From Latin elusus, the past participle of eludere, "to dodge or trick" — the same root as "elude".

elves

Old English

Plural of elf, from Old English ælf, of Germanic origin; related to Old Norse álfr.

Elvin

Origin

Variant of Alvin.

Elvira

Origin

A medieval Spanish royal name, of probably Gothic origin, and debated meaning, possibly 𐌲𐌰𐌹𐌻𐌾𐌰𐌽 (gailjan) + *𐍅𐌴𐍂𐌴𐌹 (*wērei), thus "joyful sincerity". It became famous outside Spain after its appearance in Mozart's Don Giovanni (1787). The place name Elvira is a contraction of the older Illiberi, new city.

Elvis

Welsh

The name derives from the anglicised form of the Welsh Saint Ailbe (also called Saint Elvis); its modern fame comes almost entirely from singer Elvis Presley.

Elwood

Origin

From the Middle English personal name Elwald, Elwold, Alwold, which is composed of the Old English elements ælf (“elf”) and weald (“rule”).

Ely

Middle English

Inherited from Middle English Ely, from Old English Ēlīġ, of uncertain origin.

Elyse

Origin

A rare spelling variant of Elise. By folk etymology, connected to Elysium.

Elysian

Greek

From Elysium, the paradise of Greek and Roman mythology reserved for heroic and virtuous souls after death.

Elysium

Ancient Greek

From Latin Elysium, itself from Ancient Greek Ēlúsion (Pedíon), "the Elysian plain."

em

Origin

Attested since 1808. In typography, the em is named after the em quadrat (later called em quad), from m quadrat, a metal type used in letterpress typesetting, which is as wide as the point size of the font.

ema

Japanese

From Japanese ema, literally "picture-horse" — plaques originally often depicted horses, once offered live to shrines.

email

Origin · 1970

Short for "electronic mail"; the word entered common use in the 1970s alongside the technology itself.

emancipate

Origin

Learned borrowing from Latin ēmancipātus (“liberated, emancipated”) + English -ate (suffix forming verbs, and adjectives with the sense ‘characterized by the specified thing’). Ēmancipātus is the perfect passive participle of ēmancipō (“to declare (someone) free and independent of another’s power, emancipate; to give (something) from one’s authority or power into that of another, to alienate, transfer; to cause (oneself or someone) to become another’s slave; to make (someone) subservient”), from ē- (a variant of ex- (prefix meaning ‘away; out’)) + mancipō (“to sell; to transfer”) (from manceps (“owner, possessor; purchaser; etc.”) + -ō (suffix forming infinitives of first-conjugation verbs)). The verb emancipate has verb sense 1.1 (“to set free”) and verb sense 1.3 (“(obsolete) to place under one’s control”) which are contradictory. The Latin word ēmancipō had the same senses, and the Oxford English Dictionary notes that according to the Latin grammarian Paulus Festus (fl. 8th century) this is because both actions were effected by the legal process of mancipation.

emancipation

Latin

From Latin emancipatio, "a releasing from ownership" — historically the legal act of freeing a son or slave from a father's or owner's authority.

emancipator

Origin

From Late Latin ēmancipātor, from Latin ēmancipō (“to emancipate”). By surface analysis, emancipate + -or.

emancipatrix

Origin

From Latin ēmancipātrīx. By surface analysis, emancipate + -trix.

Emanuel

Hebrew

From Hebrew "Immanu El," meaning "God is with us."

embankment

Origin

Formed from "embank" (to enclose with a bank) plus the noun-forming suffix "-ment".

embargo

Latin

From Spanish embargar, "to seize or restrain", ultimately from a Latin root meaning "to bar".

embark

French

From French embarquer, built from em- ("in") and barque ("small boat").

embarkation

Origin

From French embarcation. By surface analysis, embark + -ation.

embarrass

French

From French embarrasser, borrowed from Spanish embarazar, ultimately linked to a word meaning "bar" or "obstacle" — the original sense was to obstruct or hinder.

embarrassed

Origin

Past participle of embarrass.

embarrassing

Origin

By surface analysis, embarrass + -ing.

embarrassment

Origin

From "embarrass" plus the noun-forming suffix "-ment".

embase

Origin

From em- + base. Compare Old French embaissier.

embassy

French

From French ambassee, tracing back through Old Italian and Old Occitan to a Gaulish word for "servant" or "one sent on a mission".

embattle

Origin

From Middle English enbatelen, embatailen, from Old French embataillier (“to array for battle”), from em- (Latin in) + bataille (“battle”).

embayment

Origin

From em- + bay + -ment.

embellish

Old French

From Old French embellir, "to make beautiful", from bel ("beautiful") — the same root as "beauty" and "belle".

ember

Old English

From Old English æmerge, related to a Germanic root meaning "to burn"; the "b" was added later in English simply to make the word easier to pronounce.

embezzle

Origin

From Middle English embesilen, from Anglo-Norman embesiler, embesillier, embeseillier (“to steal, cause to disappear”), from em- + Old French besillier (“to torment, destroy, gouge”), of unknown origin.

embezzlement

Origin

From embezzle plus the noun-forming suffix -ment.

embezzler

Origin

From embezzle + -er.

embiggen

Origin

From em- + biggen or big + em- -en, possibly analogous to belittle. The morphology parallels that of enlarge (en- + large) or embolden (em- + bold + -en). The verb's first recorded use is in an 1884 edition of the British journal Notes and Queries: A Medium of Intercommunication for Literary Men, General Readers, Etc. by C. A. Ward (see quotation below). The word’s current popularity follows its deployment as an intentionally ungainly form by television writer Dan Greaney for The Simpsons episode “Lisa the Iconoclast” in 1996.

emblazon

Origin

From en- + blazon, from Old French blason (“shield”).

emblem

Latin

From Old French embleme, from Latin emblema ("inlaid ornamental work"), ultimately from Greek emblema, "something put in" or inserted.

emblematic

Origin

From French emblématique. See emblem.

embodiment

Origin

From embody plus the noun-forming suffix -ment.

embody

Origin

Formed from em- (a variant of "in") plus body — literally "to put into a body."