"G" Word Origins

germanish

Origin

From German + -ish. Compare Dutch Germaans (“Germanic”), German germanisch (“Germanic”), Swedish germansk (“Germanic”).

Germany

Latin

From Latin Germania, the Roman name for the lands and peoples east of the Rhine, of uncertain deeper origin.

germen

Origin

From Latin germen (“germ, seed”). Doublet of germ.

germinal

Origin

From oblique stem of Latin germen, germinis (“seed”) + -al.

germinate

Origin

From oblique stem of Latin germen, germinis (“shoot, sprout, bud”) + -ate, from germinātus (“sprouted, budded, grown”), past participle of germinō (“to sprout, bud, grow”), from germen, germinis (“shoot, sprout, bud”).

germination

Origin

From oblique stem of Latin germen, germinis (“shoot, sprout, bud”) + -ation, from Latin germinātiō, germinātiōnem (“sprouting, budding, growing”), from germinātus (“sprouted, budded, grown”), past participle of germinō (“to sprout, bud, grow”), from germen, germinis (“shoot, sprout, bud”). By surface analysis, germinate + -ion.

germline

Origin

From germ + line.

geronimo

Italian · 1940

The exclamation was adopted by American paratroopers in the 1940s in tribute to the Apache leader Geronimo; the name itself is an Italian form equivalent to the English name Jerome.

Gerrard

Origin

A less common spelling of Gerard.

Gerry

Origin

Formed by clipping the longer name and adding the familiar "-y" ending.

gerrymandering

English

A blend of the surname of Elbridge Gerry, governor of Massachusetts, and salamander, after a contorted electoral district approved under him in 1812 that was said to resemble the animal.

gert

Middle English

A dialect variant of "great," altered through sound-shifting in Middle English speech.

Gertie

Origin

Formed from Gertrude plus the affectionate "-ie" ending.

Gertrude

Old French · 600

From Old French, ultimately from Germanic elements meaning roughly "spear" and "strength," and the name of a seventh-century Belgian saint.

gerund

Latin

From late Latin gerundium, from gerere, 'to carry on, to do'.

Gervais

Latin

From French Gervais, from Latin Gervasius.

Gervase

Latin

From the Latin Gervasius, the name of an early Christian saint; its deeper meaning is uncertain but it likely includes a Germanic root for "spear."

geshmak

Origin

From Yiddish געשמאַק (geshmak).

gestalt

German

From German Gestalt 'form, shape, configuration'.

Gestapo

German

A German contraction of Geheime Staatspolizei, meaning "secret state police."

gestate

Origin

Back-formation from gestation on the basis of -ate (verb-forming suffix).

gestation

Latin

A learned borrowing from Latin gestatio, related to gestare, "to carry" — the same idea as physically carrying a child.

gesticulate

Origin

Borrowed from Latin gesticulātus, perfect active participle of gesticulor (“to gesticulate”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), from gesticulus (“a mimic gesture”), diminutive of gestus (“gesture”), from gerō (“to bear, carry, perform”).

gesture

Medieval Latin

From Medieval Latin gestura, "a way of carrying oneself," ultimately from Latin gerere, "to carry, bear, or behave."

gesundheit

German

Borrowed directly from German Gesundheit, literally "health," from gesund ("healthy") — related to the English word "sound" in the sense of healthy.

get

Old Norse

From Old Norse geta, ultimately from a Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to seize" or "to hold" — one of the most flexible and frequently used verbs in English.

geta

Japanese

Borrowed directly from Japanese geta (下駄).

getaway

Origin

Formed from the phrasal verb "get away," turned into a noun.

getcha

Origin

Written form of a reduction of get you. get + -cha

Gettysburg

Origin

From Gettys + -burg; named for Samuel Gettys, settler.

getup

Origin

From get + up.

geum

Latin

Taken directly from the scientific (Latin) genus name.

gewgaw

Origin

From earlier gugaw, gygaw, from Middle English givegove (“gewgaw, trifle”), a reduplication of Middle English give, geove (“gift”), from Old English giefu, geofu, geafu (“gift”), from Proto-Germanic *gebō (“gift”). Compare Icelandic gyligjöf (“showy gifts, gewgaw”). More at give.

geyser

Old Norse

From Geysir, the name of a famous hot spring in Iceland, from the Old Norse verb geysa, "to gush."

Ghana

Origin

Named after the historic Ghana Empire, chosen by scholar J. B. Danquah when the country gained independence, though the modern nation lies south of the old empire's territory.

gharial

Origin

From Hindi घड़ियाल (ghaṛiyāl). Doublet of gavial.

ghastly

Middle English

From Middle English gastly, related to "ghost" and originally meaning "terrifying" or "deathly pale" — the gh spelling crept in later by association with "ghost."

ghee

Sanskrit

Borrowed from Hindi ghī, ultimately traced back to Sanskrit ghṛta.

ghent

Origin

From Middle Dutch Ghent (modern spelling: Gent), from Latin Ganda, itself probably of Celtic origin.

gherkin

Origin

From a form of Dutch gurk, an archaic variant of augurk (“small pickled cucumber”), from Low German, from Middle Low German agurke, augurke, probably via Slavic (compare Polish ogórek), from Byzantine Greek ἀγγούριον (angoúrion, “cucumber”). The underlying Dutch form may be a diminutive (gurkijn) or perhaps more probably the plural (gurken), which was then associated with the English suffix -kin (itself incidentally from Dutch or Low German). Compare German Gurke.

ghetto

Origin

From the name of the Venetian Ghetto, the segregated Jewish quarter of Venice; the word's exact origin is disputed.

ghormley

Origin

Variant of Gormley.

ghost

Old English · 1400

From Old English gast, meaning breath, spirit, or soul — the same root behind "Holy Ghost." The silent "h" crept into the spelling in the late 1400s, likely from printers influenced by Dutch. The "stop replying without explanation" sense only became common in the 2010s.

ghosting

English

From ghost, in the sense of vanishing like an apparition, plus -ing.

ghostly

Old English

From Old English gastlic, "spiritual" — built from ghost plus the suffix -ly. It originally meant spiritual or holy before narrowing to its modern "spooky, spectral" sense.

ghostwrite

Origin

Back-formation from ghostwriter.

ghostwriter

Origin

From ghost + writer.

ghoul

French

From French goule, borrowed from Persian/Arabic ghul, a legendary desert demon that preyed on travelers and the dead.