"H" Word Origins

hewkin

Origin

From a medieval diminutive of the given name Hugh.

Hewlett

Origin

From a Middle English diminutive of Hugh.

hewn

Origin

Morphologically hew + -n.

hex

German

From Pennsylvania German "hexe" (to practise witchcraft), borrowed from German "hexen," related to "Hexe" (witch). It shares a root with the English word "hag."

hexad

Origin

From hex- + -ad.

hexahedron

Origin

From hexa- + -hedron. Piecewise doublet of sexahedron.

hexathlon

Origin

From hex- + -athlon.

hexation

Origin

From hexa- + (itera)tion. The word was coined by the English mathematician Reuben Goodstein (1912–1985).

hexcraft

Origin

From hex + -craft.

hey

Middle English

From Middle English "hey"/"hei," an ancient exclamation found in a similar form across many unrelated languages — likely just a natural sound people make to call attention.

heya

Japanese

Borrowed from Japanese heya, literally "room," referring to the communal living quarters of a sumo training school.

heyday

Origin

From an older exclamation "heyda" (a cry of high spirits), later respelled "heyday" by association with "day," giving it the sense of a golden period of time.

Heyes

Origin

Variant spelling of Hayes.

heyo

Origin

From hey + -o.

Hezbollah

Arabic

Borrowed from Arabic ḥizb allāh, literally "party of God."

HH

Origin

Initialism of Hedgehog; the gene and the signaling pathway are named after the protein.

hi

Origin · 1800

Recorded in American English from the mid-1800s, likely a variant of the older greeting/attention-call "hey."

hiatus

Latin

A learned borrowing from Latin "hiatus" (an opening), from "hio" meaning "to stand open, yawn."

hibberson

Origin

From a Middle English diminutive of the given names Isabel and Hilbert + -son.

Hibbert

Origin

From a Middle English form of the given name Hilbert.

hibbett

Origin

From a Middle English diminutive of the given names Isabel and Hilbert.

hibbit

Origin

From a Middle English diminutive of the given names Isabel and Hilbert.

hibbitt

Origin

From a Middle English diminutive of the given names Isabel and Hilbert.

hibble

Origin

From a Middle English diminutive of the given name Isabel.

hibbott

Origin

From a Middle English diminutive of the given names Isabel and Hilbert.

hibernacle

Origin

From Latin hībernācula, plural of hībernāculum.

hibernaculum

Origin

Borrowed from Latin hībernāculum (“winter quarters”).

hibernal

Origin

From Latin hībernālis (“wintry”), from hiems (“winter”).

hibernate

Latin

From Latin "hibernatus," the past participle of "hiberno" ("to winter"), from "hibernus" meaning "wintry."

hibernation

Latin

From Latin "hibernatus," from "hiberno," from "hibernus" ("wintry").

hibernator

Origin

From hibernate + -or.

hibernia

Origin

Learned borrowing from Latin Hibernia, which see.

hibiscus

Ancient Greek

From Latin "hibiscum," from Ancient Greek "ibískos" (marsh mallow), likely ultimately from a Gaulish word.

hic

Origin

An onomatopoeic word imitating the sharp, involuntary sound of a hiccup.

hiccup

Origin

From an earlier form "hicket," built from the imitative sound "hic" plus a diminutive ending — the word literally imitates the sound it describes.

hick

Origin

From "Hick," an old pet form of the name Richard, which became a generic nickname for an unsophisticated country fellow.

hickey

Origin

Origin unknown.

hickory

Origin

A shortened form of "pohickery," itself from the Powhatan word "pawcohiccora."

hidalgo

Spanish

From Spanish hidalgo, a contraction of the older phrase hijo de algo, literally "son of something" — meaning a man of some property or standing.

hidden

Origin

Formed from "hide" plus the past-participle ending "-en."

hiddenness

Origin

From Middle English hyddenesse; equivalent to hidden + -ness.

hide

Old English

From Old English "hydan" ("to hide, conceal, preserve"), ultimately from a root meaning "to cover" — the same root that gives us "hoard," "hut," and "sky."

hideaway

Origin

Formed from "hide" plus "away."

Hideo

Japanese

Borrowed from Japanese ひでお (Hideo).

hideous

Old French

From Old French "hideus," ultimately from a word meaning "horror" or "fear" — the word originally carried a sense of something terrifying rather than merely unattractive.

hideously

Origin

From "hideous" plus the adverb-forming suffix "-ly."

hideout

Origin

Formed from "hide" plus "out."

Hideyoshi

Japanese

Borrowed from Japanese ひでよし (Hideyoshi).