"H" Word Origins

hencefrom

Origin

From hence + from.

hench

Origin

Variant of haunch.

henchman

Old English

From Old English roots meaning "horseman" or "groom" — a henchman originally led a nobleman's horse before the word shifted to mean a trusted attendant, and later a criminal's enforcer.

hencoop

Origin

From Middle English henne coupe; equivalent to hen + coop.

Henderson

Origin

From the given name Hendry (a form of Henry) plus the patronymic suffix "-son".

Hendricks

Origin

From the given name Hendrick plus the patronymic "-s".

Hendrix

Origin

A less common spelling of Hendricks.

heng

Origin

Blend of h + eng.

henhouse

Origin

A straightforward compound of "hen" and "house".

henley

Origin

Named after the English town of Henley-on-Thames, where rowers traditionally wore this style of shirt.

henna

Arabic

Borrowed from Arabic hinna, the name of the plant the dye comes from.

Hennessey

Irish

An anglicized form of the Irish Ó hAonghusa, meaning "descendant of Angus".

Hennessy

Irish

An anglicized form of the Irish Ó hAonghusa, meaning "descendant of Angus".

Henny

Origin

From "hen" plus the diminutive suffix "-y", or a shortened form of Henrietta.

Henrietta

Latin

A Latinized form of the French Henriette, itself derived from Henri (Henry).

Henriette

Origin · 1600

Coined in 17th-century France as the feminine of Henri; the root of English Harriet and Henrietta.

henry

Germanic · 1797

The unit is named after the American scientist Joseph Henry (1797-1878); the given name comes from Germanic roots meaning roughly "ruler of the home".

Henshaw

Old English

From an Old English personal name combined with "healh", meaning a nook or corner of land.

Henson

Origin

From the given name Henry plus the patronymic suffix "-son".

hentai

Origin

Pseudo-Japonism, derived from 変(へん)態(たい) (hentai, “pervert”), short for 変(へん)態(たい)性(せい)欲(よく)者(しゃ) (hentai seiyoku-sha, literally “person with abnormal sexual desires”).

Heo

Origin

From the Korean surname, variant of Hŏ, from 허 (heo).

heortology

Origin

From German Heortologie, from Ancient Greek ἑορτή (heortḗ, “festival”) + -ology.

hep

Origin

An alteration of the word "hip" in its slang sense.

heparin

Latin

From Latin hepar ("liver") plus the chemical suffix -in, since it was first identified in liver tissue.

hepatectomy

Origin

From hepat- + -ectomy.

hepatic

Greek

From Greek hepatikos, "of the liver", from hepar ("liver").

hepatica

Origin

See hepatic.

hepatitis

Greek

From Greek hepar ("liver") plus the medical suffix -itis, which denotes inflammation.

Hepburn

Latin · 1800

Named after James Curtis Hepburn, a 19th-century missionary who popularised this way of spelling Japanese sounds with Latin letters.

hepcat

Origin

From hep + cat, from hep (“sophisticated, aware”). Compare cat (“jazz enthusiast”). Attested in the sense of “sophisticated person” from the 1920s.

Hephaestus

Ancient Greek

From Ancient Greek Hēphaistos, a name whose origin predates Greek itself and is not fully understood.

her

Old English

From Old English hire, the dative and genitive form of "she," going back to a common Germanic root shared with Dutch haar and German ihr.

Hera

Ancient Greek

From Ancient Greek Hḗrā, a name of uncertain origin.

herald

Old French

From Old French heraut, ultimately from a Germanic word combining "army" with a root meaning "to have power" — the same root gives us the names Harold and Harald.

heramba

Origin

From Sanskrit हेरम्ब (heramba, “buffalo”).

herb

Latin

From Old French herbe, from Latin herba ("grass, plant"). The silent "h" in British pronunciation reflects the word's French roots; American English restored the sound of the "h."

herbage

Origin

From Middle English herbage, from Old French erbage, from Early Medieval Latin herbāticum, from Latin herba (“grass”). By surface analysis, herb + -age.

herbal

Old French

Borrowed from Old French herbal. By surface analysis, herb + -al

herbalist

Origin

Formed from herbal plus the suffix -ist, which turns a subject into a person who practises it.

Herbert

Old French

From Old French Herbert, itself from a Frankish name combining elements meaning "army" and "bright."

Herbie

Origin

From Herb + -ie.

herbivore

Latin

From Latin herba 'grass, plant' and vorare 'to devour'.

Herc

Origin

A shortened, informal form of "Hercules," the aircraft's full name.

Hercules

Ancient Greek

From Latin Herculēs, borrowed from Ancient Greek Hēraklês, a name connected to Hera and possibly meaning something like "glory through Hera."

herd

Old English

From Old English heord ("herd, flock, keeping"), from a Germanic root related to German Herde and Danish hjord.

herder

Middle English

From Middle English herde ("herdsman"), related to herd, plus the agent suffix -er.

herdsman

Origin

From herd + -s- + -man.

here

Old English

From Old English hēr ("at this place"), from a Germanic root also seen in Dutch hier and German hier.