"F" Word Origins

fettler

Origin

From fettle + -er.

fetus

Latin

A learned borrowing from Latin fētus ("offspring"); a doublet of fawn.

feud

Old French

From Old French faide, ultimately from a Germanic root meaning "hatred, enmity" — related to the word foe.

feudal

Medieval Latin

From Medieval Latin feodalis, from feudum ("fief, estate held in service"), related to the word fee.

feudatory

Origin

From the Latin feudātōrius, from the Mediaeval Latin feudāre (“to enfeoff”), from feudum, feodum.

fever

Latin

From Old English fefer and Old French fievre, both from Latin febris, from a very old root meaning "to burn."

feverish

Origin

From fever plus the adjective ending -ish.

few

Old English

From Old English fēaw ("few"), from a Germanic and ultimately Proto-Indo-European root meaning "small, few."

fewer

Origin

From Middle English fewere, equivalent to few + -er.

fey

Old English

From Old English fǣġe ("doomed to die"), from a Germanic root related to the word foe.

fez

Origin

Named after the city of Fez in Morocco, once a source of the crimson dye used to color the hat.

fiance

French

From French fiancé, the past participle of fiancer ("to promise, betroth").

fiasco

Italian

From Italian fiasco ("bottle, flask"), via the theatrical phrase far fiasco ("to make a bottle"), meaning to flop on stage — the exact origin of the failure sense is debated.

fiat

Latin

From Latin fīat, meaning "let it be done."

fib

Origin

Origin unclear, but likely a shortened form of "fable," possibly influenced by the old expression fible-fable meaning "nonsense."

fiber

Latin

From French fibre, from Latin fibra.

Fibonacci

Italian

Named after the medieval Italian mathematician Leonardo Fibonacci, whose name meant "son of Bonaccio."

fibre

Latin

From French fibre, ultimately from Latin fibra.

fibril

Origin

Borrowed from Latin fibrilla, diminutive of Latin fibra. Doublet of fibrilla. Compare fibre.

fibrosis

Origin

From fibro- ("fiber") plus the medical suffix -osis, meaning a diseased condition.

fibula

Latin

From Latin fībula ("buckle, clasp, pin") — the leg bone is named after the clasp because of how it pairs with the shinbone.

fickle

Old English

From Old English ficol ("cunning, deceitful"), related to the old word fike ("to move restlessly").

fico

Origin

From Italian fico (“a fig”), from Latin fīcus. Doublet of fig.

fiction

Latin

From Old French ficcion, from Latin fictiō ("a shaping, invention"), from fingō ("to form, feign").

fictional

Origin

From fiction plus the adjective ending -al.

fictitious

Latin

From Latin fictīcius, from fingō ("to shape, feign") — the same root as fiction.

ficus

Latin

Borrowed directly from Latin fīcus, meaning "fig."

fiddle

Late Latin

From Old English *fiþele, of Germanic origin, possibly connected to Late Latin vitula (source of viola) — scholars disagree on the exact link.

fiddler

Old English

From Old English fiþelere, related to fiddle plus -er. The crab is named for the way it holds its oversized claw, resembling someone playing a fiddle.

fiddlestick

Origin

From Middle English fydylstyk, ffidillstyke; equivalent to fiddle + stick.

fiddlesticks

Origin · 1600

From fiddlestick, originally meaning a violin bow, later used as a dismissive exclamation from around 1600.

FIDE

French

Acronym of the French "Fédération Internationale des Échecs."

Fidel

Latin

Borrowed from Spanish Fidel, from Latin fidēlis ("faithful").

fidelity

Latin

From Middle French fidélité, from Latin fidēlitās, from fidēlis ("faithful"), from fidēs ("faith, trust") — a doublet of fealty.

fidget

Origin

From the older word fidge ("to fidget"), with the frequentative ending -et added.

fidgetiness

Origin

From fidgety + -ness.

fidgety

Origin

From fidget plus the adjective ending -y.

fido

Origin · 1960

From an acronym for "freaks, irregulars, defects, oddities," coined by coin collectors in the 1960s.

fiduciary

Latin

From Latin fiduciarius 'held in trust', from fiducia 'trust, confidence', which comes from fidere 'to trust'. The same root gives fidelity and confide.

fie

Latin

From Middle English fy, borrowed from Old French fi, ultimately from Latin.

fief

Medieval Latin

From Old French fief, from Medieval Latin feudum — the same root that gives us "fee" and "feudal."

field

Old English

From Old English feld, related to the idea of a flat, open space — the same ancient root that gives us "flat."

fieldable

Origin

From field + -able.

fielder

Origin · 1800

From "field" plus the agent suffix -er; the sporting sense dates to the early 1800s.

fiend

Old English

From Old English feond, "enemy" — originally just meaning a hated foe before it narrowed to mean a devil or demon.

fiendish

Origin

From fiend plus -ish.

fiendship

Origin

From Middle English feondscipe, from Old English fēondsċiepe, from Proto-West Germanic *fijandskapi, equivalent to fiend + -ship.

fierce

Latin

From Old French fers/fer, from Latin ferus, "wild, untamed."