"E" Word Origins

enzyme

German · 1878

Coined in 1878 by German physiologist Wilhelm Kuhne from Greek en- ("in") plus zyme ("leaven, yeast").

eonism

Origin

Coined in 1920 by the British physician and sexologist Havelock Ellis (1859–1939) after Chevalier d'Eon (1728–1810), a French diplomat, spy and soldier who presented as male for 49 years, then as a female for 33. Ellis had previously used the term sexo-aesthetic inversion.

eonist

Origin

See eonism.

ep

Origin

A shortening of "episode."

epanorthosis

Origin

From Ancient Greek ἐπανόρθωσις (epanórthōsis, “correction”).

Epcot

Origin

Acronym of Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow.

epenthetic

Origin

From Ancient Greek ἐπενθετικός (epenthetikós, “inserted”).

Eph

Origin

Shortened from Ephraim Williams, the soldier whose bequest founded Williams College.

ephemeral

Greek

From Greek ephemeros, "lasting a day" — originally used for short-lived flowers and insects.

Ephraim

Hebrew

From Hebrew אֶפְרַיִם (Efráyim, “Ephraim”, literally “fruitful”), via Latin.

ephraimite

Origin

An adaptation of the Latin Ephraimītēs, Ephraimīta, from the Ancient Greek Ἐφραιμῑ́tης (Ephraimī́tēs), from Ἐφραίμ (Ephraím, “Ephraim”) + -ῑ́της (-ī́tēs, “one connected to, a member of”). Equivalent to Ephraim + -ite.

epi

Greek

A clipped form of "epinephrine," itself from Greek epi- ("upon") + nephros ("kidney"), referring to the adrenal glands that produce the hormone.

epic

Latin

From Latin epicus, from Greek epikos, related to epos, "word, story."

epicene

Origin

From Late Middle English epicene, epicen, epicin, epcyn, episcen, epycen, epycene, epycyn, ypsen (“(grammar) having only one form for masculine and feminine gender, common”), from Late Latin epicoenos, epicoenus (“of a noun: applicable to either males or females”), Latin epicoenon (“noun applicable to either males or females; grammatical gender of such nouns”), from Ancient Greek ἐπίκοινος (epíkoinos, “common to many people, things, etc.; promiscuous, sluttish”) (compare γένος ἐπίκοινον (génos epíkoinon, “common gender”)), from ἐπι- (epi-, prefix meaning ‘on, upon; on top of; all over’) + κοινός (koinós, “common; general, public”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱóm (“beside, by, near, with”) + *-yós (suffix forming adjectives from noun stems)).

epicenter

Greek

From Greek epi ('upon') plus kentron ('centre'), literally the point upon the centre.

epicure

Origin

From Epicurus, the name of an Ancient Greek philosopher who advocated such a lifestyle.

epicurean

Origin

From Epicurean (“follower of Epicureanism”).

epicureanism

Origin

From Epicurean + -ism. As a pejorative synonym of atheism, both from the philosophy's rejection of deontological morality and from Epicurus's specific belief that the Greek gods—if they did exist—did not concern themselves at all with mankind, its actions, or any system of reward or punishment for them. Doublet of epicurism.

epidemic

Greek

From Greek epidemios, "among the people," from epi- ("upon") plus demos ("people").

epidemiology

Greek

From Greek epidēmia ('a stay in a place, prevalence of disease'), from epi ('among') plus dēmos ('people'), plus -logia ('study of').

epidural

Latin

Formed from "epi-" ("upon, outside") plus "dural," relating to the dura mater, the tough outer membrane covering the spinal cord and brain.

epigonic

Origin

From epigone + -ic.

epigonous

Origin

From epigone (“imitator, follower, disciple”) + -ous.

epigrammatic

Origin

From Late Latin epigrammaticus.

epigraph

Origin

From Ancient Greek ἐπιγραφή (epigraphḗ, “inscription”), from ἐπιγράφω (epigráphō, “write upon”), from ἐπῐ- (epĭ-, “on, upon, over, etc.”) + γρᾰ́φω (grắphō, “to draw, paint, write, etc.”).

epigraphy

Origin

From epigraph + -y.

epilate

Origin

From e- + Latin pilus (“hair”) + -ate.

epilation

Origin

From French épilation.

epilator

Origin

From epilate + -or.

epilepsy

Greek

From Greek epilepsia, from epilambanein, "to seize," from epi- ("upon") plus lambanein ("to take").

epileptic

Ancient Greek

From Ancient Greek epilēptikós, from epilambánein, "to seize upon" — the same idea behind the word "epilepsy" itself.

epilogue

Greek

From Greek epílogos, "a conclusion" — from epi- ("in addition") + légein ("to speak").

epimanikion

Origin

Borrowed from Byzantine Greek ἐπιμανίκιον (epimaníkion), from ἐπί (epí, “upon”) + μανίκιον (maníkion, “sleeve”).

epinephrine

Greek

From Greek epi- ("upon") + nephrós ("kidney") + the chemical suffix -ine — literally "upon the kidney," describing where the adrenal glands sit.

Epiphany

Greek

From Greek epiphaneia, "manifestation" or "appearance" — from epi- ("upon") + phainein ("to show").

episcopate

Origin

From Late Latin episcopatus, from Latin episcopus, from Ancient Greek ἐπίσκοπος (epískopos, “watching over”).

episode

French

From French épisode, from New Latin *epīsodium, from Ancient Greek ἐπεισόδιον (epeisódion, “a parenthetic addition, episode”), neuter of ἐπεισόδιος (epeisódios, “following upon the entrance, coming in besides, adventitious”), from ἐπί (epí, “on”) + εἰς (eis, “into”) + ὁδός (hodós, “way”).

epitaph

Greek

From Greek epitáphios, "over a tomb" — from epi- ("over") + táphos ("tomb").

epithet

Origin

From Middle French épithète, from Latin epithetum, epitheton, from Ancient Greek ἐπίθετον (epítheton, “epithet, adjective”), the neuter of ἐπίθετος (epíthetos, “additional”), from ἐπιτίθημι (epitíthēmi, “to add on”), from ἐπι- (epi-, “in addition”) + τίθημι (títhēmi, “to put”) (suf. possibly related to title in the sense of "ascribed appellation") (from Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁- (“to put, to do”)). Doublet of epitheton.

epithite

Origin

Ancient Greek

epitomator

Origin

From Latin epitomator (“epitomizer”), from epitomātus (“epitomized”) + -or (“-er: forming agent nouns”). Equivalent to epitome + -ator or epitomate + -or.

epitome

Greek

From Greek epitomē, "an abridgment" — from epi- + témnein ("to cut") — originally meaning a condensed summary of a text.

epitomizer

Origin

From epitomize + -er. Equivalent to epitome + -izer.

epitrachelion

Origin

Borrowed from Byzantine Greek ἐπιτραχήλιον (epitrakhḗlion), from Ancient Greek ἐπιτραχήλιος (epitrakhḗlios, “on the neck”) + -ιον (-ion, suffix forming diminutive nouns). ἐπιτραχήλιος (epitrakhḗlios) is from ἐπι- (epi-, “on, upon, on top of, covering”) (from Proto-Indo-European *h₁epi (“on; at; near”)) + τράχηλος (trákhēlos, “neck”) + -ῐος (-ĭos) (from Proto-Indo-European *-yós (suffix forming adjectives)).

epoch

Greek

From Greek epokhē, "a fixed point in time," from epékhein ("to hold back, pause") — originally used for the starting point from which a span of time is measured.

epochal

Origin

From epoch + -al.

epoche

Origin

Borrowed from Latin epocha or German Epoche, from Ancient Greek ἐποχή (epokhḗ). Doublet of epoch. This term was introduced by Husserl and other phenomenologists, although it also seems to be present in Aristotelian philosophy (as the concept did originate with Aristotle).

epochless

Origin

From epoch + -less.