"E" Word Origins

ebonite

Origin

Genericized trademark; the trademark was From ebony + -ite.

ebony

Latin

From Latin hebenus and ultimately Egyptian hbnj, via Greek ébenos — the same root word travelled through several languages before settling as "ebony" in English.

ebrahim

Origin

Alternative transliteration of Arabic إِبْرَاهِيم (ʔibrāhīm), as a patronymic surname.

ebullience

Origin

Borrowed from Latin ēbullientem + English -ence (suffix meaning ‘having the state or condition of’). Ēbullientem is the accusative feminine or masculine singular of ēbulliēns (“boiling”), the present participle of ēbulliō (“to boil”) (from ē- (prefix meaning ‘out, away’) + bulliō (“to bubble; to boil”) (from bulla (“bubble; bubble-shaped object”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰew- (“to blow; to inflate”))) + -ēns.

ebullient

Latin

From Latin ebullire 'to boil up', from e- 'out' and bullire 'to boil' — the same root as 'boil'.

ebullition

Origin

From Old French ebullition, from Latin ēbullītiō, from ēbulliō (“to boil”).

eccedentesiast

English

A modern pseudo-Latin coinage rather than a genuine classical word; it is usually explained as combining Latin ecce, behold, with dentes, teeth. It is not recorded in classical Latin sources.

eccentric

Greek

From Greek ékkentros, "off centre" — literally "out of" (ek-) plus "centre" (kéntron); it first described orbits that didn't circle the Earth exactly, before coming to mean "unconventional person."

eccentricity

Origin

Borrowed from Latin eccentricitās. By surface analysis, eccentric + -ity.

ecclesiastic

Origin

From Middle English ecclesyastyke, from Late Latin ecclēsiasticus (“of the church”), from Ancient Greek ἐκκλησιαστικός (ekklēsiastikós). By surface analysis, ecclesiast + -ic. Doublet of Ecclesiasticus.

ecclesiastical

Latin

From Latin ecclesiasticus, ultimately from Greek ekklēsía, "assembly" or "congregation" — the same root behind the word "church" in several languages.

ecdemic

Origin

By surface analysis, ec- + demic.

ecdysiast

Origin

Coined by H. L. Mencken from ecdysis (“moulting”) (on the model of enthusiast etc.).

ecesis

Origin

From Ancient Greek οἴκισις (oíkisis, “colonization”).

echelon

Latin

Borrowed from French échelon, "rung of a ladder," from échelle ("ladder"), ultimately from Latin scāla — the image is of ranks stepping up like rungs.

echidna

Latin · 1811

Coined in scientific Latin around 1811, probably from Greek ékhidna ("snake" or "viper"); some sources also link the name to Echidna, a serpent-woman of Greek mythology, since early naturalists were unsure whether the animal was mammal or reptile.

echo

Latin

From Greek ēkhṓ, "sound" or "echo," via Latin and Old French — in Greek myth, Echo was a nymph condemned by Hera to only repeat the last words spoken to her.

eclectic

Greek

From Greek eklektikós, "selective," from eklégō, "to pick out" — from ek- ("out") plus légō ("to choose"); related to the word "elect."

eclipse

Greek

From Greek ékleipsis, "a forsaking" or "vanishing," from ekleípō — ek- ("out") plus leípō ("to leave behind") — describing how the sun or moon seems to disappear.

ecliptic

Origin

Borrowed from Latin eclīptica. So named because an eclipse can occur only when the Moon lies on this plane.

ecmascript

Origin

From ECMA + script, after JavaScript.

eco

Origin

From ECOWAS, the Economic Community of West African States, who propose to use the currency.

eco friendly

English

A compound of the prefix 'eco-', shortened from 'ecology' (ultimately from Greek 'oikos', house), and 'friendly' in the sense 'not harmful to'.

ecoduct

Origin

From eco- (prefix meaning ‘ecology; the environment’) + (via)duct (“bridge with several spans that carries traffic over a valley or other obstacles”).

ecology

German · 1866

A loan-translation of German Ökologie, coined in 1866 by the biologist Ernst Haeckel from Greek oîkos ("house") plus -logía ("study of") — literally, the "study of the household" of nature.

economic

Greek

Ultimately from Greek oikonomikós, "skilled in household management," from oîkos ("house") plus nómos ("law" or "management") — the same root gave us "economy."

economics

Origin

Formed from "economic" plus the suffix "-s" used for fields of study, following the same pattern as "physics" or "politics."

economist

Middle French

From Middle French économiste (“household manager”). By surface analysis, economy + -ist.

economy

Greek

From Greek oikonomía, "household management," from oîkos ("house") plus némō ("to manage" or "allocate") — the word originally described running a household well before it grew to mean running a whole economy.

ecosystem

Origin · 1935

Coined in 1935 by the English botanist Arthur Tansley from "eco-" plus "system," describing how living organisms and their environment function as one connected whole.

ecotone

Origin

Combination of eco- (“ecology”) + -tone, from the Greek τόνος (tónos, “tension”).

ecphonesis

Origin

From Ancient Greek ἐκφώνησις (ekphṓnēsis, “pronunciation, exclamation”).

ecstasy

Greek

From Greek ékstasis, "displacement" or "trance," from existēmi — ek- ("out") plus histēmi ("to stand") — the sense of being so overcome with feeling that you're "standing outside" yourself.

ecstatic

Greek

From Greek ekstatikós, related to "ecstasy" — describing someone so overwhelmed with joy they seem to stand outside themselves.

ectasia

Greek

From Greek 'ektasis', meaning stretching out or extension, from 'ek-' (out) and 'teinein' (to stretch).

ectoplasm

Origin

From "ecto-" ("outside") plus "-plasm" ("formed substance") — the spiritualist sense reflects the belief that this substance emerges from, and appears outside of, the medium's body.

Ecuador

Spanish

From Spanish Ecuador, meaning "equator" — the country takes its name from the equatorial line that crosses it.

ecumenical

Origin

From ecumenic + -al. By surface analysis, ecumene + -ical.

eczema

Greek

From Greek ékzema, "a breaking out" or "eruption," from ekzéō, "to boil over" — describing how the skin condition seems to erupt on the surface.

ed

Japanese

Borrowed from Japanese ED(エンディング) (endingu), from English ending.

Eda

Old English

From Old English ead ("riches"), also a short form of compound names such as Edith.

edacious

Origin

From Latin edā(c) (“gluttonous, greedy”) (from edō (“to eat”)) + -ious (adjectival suffix).

edda

Origin

Likely from Old Norse edda (“great-grandmother”).

edder

Origin

From Middle English *edre, *eder, from Old English eder, edor (“hedge, fence”), from Proto-Germanic *edaraz, *eduraz (“hedge, border”). Cognate with Old High German etar.

Eddie

Origin

A pet form of Ed-, the shared first syllable of several English given names.

Eddington

Old English

From the Old English personal name Ēada + -ing ("belonging to") + tūn ("settlement").

eddo

Origin

From a West African language.

eddy

Middle English

From Middle English eddy, built from the old prefix ed- ("back, again") plus ea ("water") — literally water that turns back on itself.