"G" Word Origins

Giordano

Italian

From Italian Giordano. Doublet of Jordan.

Giovanni

Italian

Borrowed from Italian Giovanni. Doublet of John.

giraffe

French

Traces through French and Italian back to Arabic zarafa, ultimately from a Persian phrase meaning roughly "fast-walker" or "flute-leg" — it displaced the older English word "camelopard".

Girard

French

Borrowed from French Girard.

Girardi

Italian

Borrowed from Italian Girardi.

giraud

Origin

From French Giraud.

gird

Origin

From Middle English girden, gerden, gürden, from Old English gyrdan (“to put a belt around, to put a girdle around”), from Proto-Germanic *gurdijaną (“to gird”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰerdʰ-. Cognate with West Frisian gurdzje, girdzje, Dutch gorden, German gürten, Swedish gjorda, Icelandic gyrða, Albanian ngërthej (“to tie together by weaving, to bind”).

girdle

Old English

From Old English gyrdel, related to gird ("to bind"); the same Germanic root gives German Gürtel ("belt").

girl

Middle English

From Middle English gerle/girle, once used for a child of either sex, of uncertain deeper origin.

girlfriend

Origin

A straightforward compound of girl + friend, formed in English.

girlish

Origin

Formed from girl + the adjective-forming suffix -ish.

girly

Origin

Formed from girl + the adjective suffix -y.

girn

Origin

From Middle English gyrnen, a metathesised form of grinnen, grennen. More at grin.

giro

Latin

Borrowed via German from Italian giro ("circulation"), ultimately from Latin gyrus ("circle").

girth

Old Norse

From Old Norse gjörð, related to the Germanic root behind "gird" (to bind or encircle).

Giselle

French

Borrowed from French Giselle.

gist

Latin

From Anglo-Norman legal French gist ("[the case] lies/rests"), from Old French gesir ("to lie"), ultimately from Latin iacere ("to lie down").

git

Middle English

From a Middle English word for an illegitimate child, related to "beget."

Gitmo

Origin

A clipped, phonetic respelling of "GTMO," the military abbreviation for Guantanamo.

Giuliani

Italian

Borrowed from Italian Giuliani.

giuseppe

Origin

Borrowed from Italian Giuseppe.

give

Old English

From Old English giefan, merged with Old Norse gefa, both meaning "to give," from a common Germanic root.

giveaway

Origin

A noun formed from the phrasal verb "give away," meaning to hand out for free or to reveal.

given

Old English

The past participle of "give," from Old English giefan.

giver

Middle English

From Middle English forms of "give" plus the agent suffix -er.

giving

Origin

Formed from "give" plus the -ing suffix.

Giza

Persian

From Egyptian Arabic اَلْجِيزَة (il-Gīza). The etymology is uncertain. Al-Maqrizi derives it from Classical Syriac ܓܸܣܵܐ (gessā, “side”). Peust suggests a Persian etymology from Persian دز (dez, “castle”). Everett-Heath suggests an Egyptian etymology from Egyptian r-gs-ḥr (“on the side of the high one (pyramid)”).

gizmo

Origin · 1900

Origin unknown; entered American English slang in the early 20th century.

gizzard

Latin

From Old French gesier, ultimately from Latin gigeria ("cooked entrails of poultry").

gizzit

Origin

Corruption of give us it. Compare gissa, gizza.

Gl

Japanese

From Japanese GL(ジーエル) (jīeru), from ガールズラブ (gāruzu rabu), from English girls + love.

glacial

Latin

From French glacial, from Latin glacialis, from glacies ("ice").

glacier

Latin · 1744

Borrowed from French glacier, ultimately from Latin glacies ("ice"); first recorded in English in 1744.

glad

Old English

From Old English glæd ("shining, bright, cheerful"), from a Germanic root also meaning "smooth" or "radiant."

gladden

Origin

From glad + -en.

glade

Old English

From Middle English glade, of uncertain origin, possibly related to Old English glæd ("bright, shining").

gladfulness

Origin

From gladful + -ness.

gladiator

Latin

From Latin gladiator, from gladius ("sword").

gladiature

Origin

From Latin gladiatura.

gladiolus

Origin

Learned borrowing from Latin gladiolus (“little sword, sword lily”), diminutive of gladius (“sword”). Compare Middle English gladiol, whence gladiole.

gladius

Origin

From Latin gladius (“Roman short sword, gladius”). Doublet of glaive.

gladly

Old English

From Old English glædlice, formed from glæd ("glad") plus the adverbial ending -lice.

gladness

Origin

From "glad" plus the noun-forming suffix -ness.

gladsome

Origin

From Middle English gladsom, equivalent to glad + -some.

Gladstone

Old English

From Old English glæd (“shining”) + stān (“stone”).

Gladys

Welsh

Anglicized from Welsh Gwladus, of uncertain origin, perhaps connected with gwlad (“country”).

glam

Origin

A shortened, informal clipping of "glamour" or "glamorous."

glamorous

Origin

Formed from "glamour" plus the adjective suffix -ous.