"E" Word Origins

extradition

Latin

From French extradition, itself from Latin ex- ("out") + traditio ("handing over").

extradural

Origin

From extra- + dural.

extramarital

Latin

Built from extra- ("outside") + marital ("relating to marriage").

extraneous

Latin

From Latin extrāneus, "external, foreign, from outside" — the same root that gives us "strange" and "estrange."

extraordinaire

French

Borrowed directly from French extraordinaire; a doublet (same root, different path into English) of "extraordinary."

extraordinarily

Origin

Formed from "extraordinary" + the adverb suffix -ly.

extraordinary

Latin

From Latin extrā ōrdinem, "outside the [normal] order" — literally beyond the ordinary sequence of things.

extrapolate

Origin

Built from extra- ("beyond") + a shortened form of "interpolate," coined to describe reasoning beyond a known data range.

extrapolation

Origin

Morphologically extrapolate + -ion

extraterrestrial

Origin

Formed from extra- ("outside") + terrestrial ("of the Earth"), literally "beyond Earth."

extravagance

Medieval Latin

From French extravagance, from Medieval Latin extra ("beyond") + vagor ("to wander") — literally "wandering beyond bounds."

extravagant

Medieval Latin

From Medieval Latin extravagans, "wandering beyond" — from extra ("beyond") + vagor ("to wander, stray").

extravaganza

Italian

From Italian stravaganza, shaped in English by the influence of "extravagance."

extravagation

Origin

From extravagate + -ion.

extravasate

Origin

From Latin extra (“out-”) + Latin vas (“vessel”) + -ate (noun-forming suffix)

extravasation

Origin

From extravasate (“let out or force out (blood or fluid)”) + -ion; further etymology at extravasate. Attested from the 17th century.

extreme

Latin

From Latin extrēmus, the superlative form of exter ("outer") — literally "outermost."

extremely

Origin

Formed from "extreme" + the adverb suffix -ly.

extremism

Origin

Formed from "extreme" + the noun suffix -ism, denoting a doctrine or set of beliefs.

extremist

Origin

Formed from "extreme" + the agent suffix -ist, meaning "one who holds [extreme views]."

extremity

Latin

From Latin extrēmitās, "furthest point," built on extrēmus ("outermost") — the same root as "extreme."

extricate

Latin

From Latin extrīcāre, related to "intricate" — the opposite process, essentially "un-tangling."

extrinsic

Origin

From French extrinsèque, from Latin extrinsecus (“from without, without, on the outside”), from *extrim, an assumed adverbial form of exter (“outer, outward”) + secus (“by, on the side”).

extroversion

Origin

From extro- + -version. As a variant of extraversion, popularized in psychology by Phyllis Blanchard's use of the (then nonstandard) spelling extrovert in her publication "Psycho-Analytic Study of August Comte" (1918).

extrovert

Latin

Formed from Latin extra ('outside') plus vertere ('to turn'), literally 'turned outward'; it entered English through the vocabulary of psychology.

extroverted

Origin

A variant spelling of extraverted. Popularized as a psychological term by Phyllis Blanchard's use of extrovert in her 1918 "Psycho-Analytic Study of August Comte", from extrovert + -ed.

extrusion

Origin

Mid-16th century from Latin extrūdere, from ex- (“out”) + trūdere (“to thrust”).

exuberance

Latin

From Latin exuberare, "to grow abundantly" — from ex- ("out") + uber ("udder"), originally describing an animal producing milk so freely it overflows.

exuberant

Latin

From Latin exūberāns, "overflowing" — from the same udder-related root as "exuberance."

exuberantness

Origin

From exuberant + -ness.

exuberate

Origin

From Latin exuberatus, past participle of exuberare. See exuberant (“adjective”).

exudate

Origin

From exude + -ate (noun-forming suffix).

exude

Latin

From Latin exsudare, "to sweat out" — from ex- ("out") + sudare ("to sweat").

exult

Origin

From Middle French exulter, from Latin exsultō, frequentative of exsiliō (“jump up”), from ex- + saliō (“jump, leap”).

exultant

Origin

From Latin exsultāns, present participle of exsultō (“rejoice; boast”). See also exult.

exultation

Origin

From Middle English exultacion, from Old French exultacion, from Latin exsultātiō, exsultātiōnem.

exuviate

Origin

From Latin exuviae (“what is shed”), from exuō (“cast off, strip”).

Exxon

Origin

Variant of the originally proposed Exon (in keeping with the four-letter format of Enco and Esso), to avoid having the name of J. James Exon, governor of Nebraska, which might have suggested a conflict of interest.

ey

Old English · 1500

From Old English ǣg ("egg"), the native English ancestor of "egg" — the word was eventually replaced by the Old Norse-derived "egg" around the 16th century.

eye

Latin

From Old English ēage, tracing back to Proto-Indo-European roots meaning "to see" — related to "ogle" and, further back, to Latin oculus.

eyeball

Origin

A straightforward compound of "eye" + "ball," describing the round shape of the organ.

eyebrow

Old English

From Old English ēaganbrū, a compound of "eye" and "brow" (ridge).

eyed

Origin

From "eye" + the adjective-forming suffix -ed.

eyeful

Origin

From "eye" + the suffix -ful, meaning "enough to fill the eye."

eyeglass

Origin

From eye + glass.

eyeglasses

Origin

A compound of "eye" + "glasses."

eyehole

Origin

From eye + hole.

eyelash

Origin

A compound of "eye" + "lash."