"G" Word Origins

gaolbait

Origin

From gaol + bait, see jailbait.

gaolbird

Origin

From gaol + bird.

gaoler

Origin

By surface analysis, gaol + -er.

gap

Old Norse

From Old Norse gap ("an empty space, chasm"), related to gapa, "to gape" — gap and gape share the same root.

gape

Old Norse

From Old Norse gapa, "to open the mouth wide" — the same root that gives us "gap."

gaping

Middle English

From Middle English gaping, gapynge, variants of Middle English gapand, gapande, equivalent to gape + -ing.

gar

Middle English

Shortened from "garfish", itself from Middle English gare (a spear, referring to the fish's pointed snout) plus "fish".

garage

French

From French garage, "shelter, keeping under cover," from garer, "to keep safe, dock" — ultimately from a Germanic root meaning "to defend or protect."

garb

French

From Italian garbo, "grace, elegance," borrowed into French and then English, ultimately from a Germanic word meaning "to prepare or equip."

garbage

Old French

Originally meant the waste parts of a butchered animal, from Anglo-Norman via Old French garber, "to clean up or refine" — the sense later widened to any rubbish.

garble

Origin

From Middle English garbelen, from Anglo-Norman garbeler (“to sift”), from Medieval Latin garbellare (or a similar Italian word), from Arabic غَرْبَلَ (ḡarbala, “to sift”).

garbo

Origin

A shortening of "garbage" with the informal Australian "-o" ending, as in "arvo" or "servo."

Garcia

Spanish

Borrowed from Spanish García.

garden

Old French

From Old French/Anglo-Norman gardin, ultimately from a Frankish word for a fenced enclosure — the same ancient root that gives English "yard".

gardener

French

From Middle English gardener, borrowed from Anglo-Norman French gardinier, an occupational term built on "garden".

gardenia

Origin · 1700

Named after the 18th-century Scottish naturalist Dr. Alexander Garden.

gardening

Origin

From garden + -ing.

Gardiner

Origin

A spelling variant of Gardener.

gare

Origin

Related to the word "gear," suggesting old associations with coarse or rough material.

Gareth

Welsh

From Old Welsh, possibly related to gwâr, "gentle."

Garfield

Old English

From Old English gār, "spear," and feld, "field."

garfish

Origin

From Middle English garfysche (“garfish”, literally “spear-fish”), from gor (“spear”) + fisch (“fish”). Cognate with Scots gairfish (“garfish”).

Garfunkel

Origin

From Yiddish גאָרפֿינקל (gorfinkl, “carbuncle”).

gargantuan

Origin · 1500

From Gargantua, the giant with an enormous appetite in Rabelais's 16th-century satirical novel.

gargle

French

From French gargouiller, ultimately related to "gutter" and "throat" — the same root gives us "gargoyle."

gargoyle

Old French

From Old French gargouille, related to "gargle" — both trace back to words for "throat" or "gullet," describing the water passing through the carved figure's mouth.

garibaldi

Italian

Named after the Italian revolutionary Giuseppe Garibaldi, famous for the red shirt he wore.

garish

Old Norse

Unknown, possibly from obsolete Middle English gawren (“to stare”) which is of uncertain origin, probably from Old Norse gá (“to watch, heed”) or gaurr (“rough fellow”) (Proto-Indo-European *gʰow-rós, from *gʰew- (“to be angry”)). Compare with English gaw.

garland

Old French

From Old French garlande, related to a Frankish word meaning "to adorn."

garlic

Old English

From Old English gārlēac, literally "spear-leek" — a reference to the plant's sharp, pointed leaves.

garment

Old French

From Old French garnement, related to garnir, "to clothe, furnish, or adorn" — the same root behind "garnish."

garner

Latin

From Old French gernier, ultimately from Latin grānārium, "granary" — garner and granary are doublets sharing the same Latin ancestor.

garnet

Old French

From Old French grenate, "pomegranate red" — garnet is a doublet of "grenade," which was named for its pomegranate-like shape.

garnett

Origin

Believed to derive from the surname of an early manufacturer of the machine.

Garnier

French

From French Garnier, from the Proto-Germanic *Warinhari, composed of *warōn (“to protect”) + *hari (“army”). Compare Garner, Grenier, Gurnee.

garnish

Old French

From Old French garnir, "to furnish, adorn, or defend" — the same root that gives us "garment" and "warn."

garnishee

Origin

From garnish + -ee.

garnison

Origin

Inherited from Middle English garnisoun, from Middle French garnison, from Old French garnison, from garnir, guarnir (“to protect, provision”).

garniture

Origin

From Middle English garnetture, from Anglo-Norman garniture, gerneiture, from Old French garneture (“accessory for a saddle”), from Old French garnir, guarnir, from Frankish *warnijan (“to prevent, deny”).

garret

Old French

From Old French garite, "watchtower," related to the same Germanic root as "garrison" and "garage."

Garrett

Origin

A medieval English and Irish form of the Germanic given names Gerard and Gerald. Of Old High German origin.

Garrick

Old English

From Old English *Gārrīċ (from gār (“spear”) + rīċ), from Proto-Germanic *Gaizarīks. Doublet of Gaiseric.

Garrido

Portuguese

Borrowed from Portuguese and Spanish Garrido.

garrison

Old French

From Old French garison ("protection, defense"), related to the verb "warish" (to heal or protect) and ultimately to "guard" and "ward."

garroter

Origin

From garrote + -er.

garrulous

Origin

Adapted borrowing of Latin garrulus (“talkative”) + -ous, from the verb garriō (“to chatter”).

garter

Old French

From Old French garet ("bend of the knee"), ultimately from a Gaulish Celtic word meaning shank or calf.

garth

Old Norse

From Old Norse garðr ("enclosure"), the same root that gave English "yard" and "garden."