"H" Word Origins

Hilda

Origin

Short form of Germanic names beginning or ending in hild (“battle”).

Hildegard

German

Borrowed from German Hildegard in the 19th century; ultimately from Proto-West Germanic *Hildigardu.

hilding

Origin

Unknown. Likely a contraction of earlier hilderling, itself an alteration of hinderling.

hill

Old English

From Old English hyll, tracing back through Proto-Germanic to a very old Indo-European root meaning "top" or "rock" — related to the word "holm."

Hillary

Latin

From Latin Hilarius or Hilaria, from hilare (“cheerfully”) (compare English hilarious).

hillbilly

Origin

From hill + billy ("fellow"), a term originally used for rural mountain dwellers, especially in Appalachia.

hillman

Origin

From hill + man.

hillock

Origin

From Middle English hillok (“hillock”), a topographic surname for someone who lived near or on a hillock.

hillside

Origin

From hill + side.

hillsman

Origin

From hill + -s- + -man.

hillspeople

Origin

From hill + -s- + people.

hilltop

Origin

From hill + top.

hillwalking

Origin

From hill + walking.

hilly

Middle English

From Middle English hilly, from hill + -y.

hilt

Old English

From Old English hilt, related to Old Norse hjalt.

Hilton

Norman

From many placenames in England and Scotland, including: * Old English hyll (“hill”) + tun (“settlement”); sometimes the first element is interpreted as Old English hield (“slope”) or helde (“tansy”) * From Norman Hildun, from Old English hild (“battle”) + húnn (“bear cub”)

him

Old English

From Old English him, from Proto-Germanic *himmai.

Himalayan

Malay

From Himalaya + -an.

Himalayas

Sanskrit

From Sanskrit "hima" (snow) and "alaya" (abode), meaning "abode of snow."

Himanshu

Sanskrit

Borrowed from Sanskrit हिमांशु (himāṃśu).

himbo

English

A blend of him and bimbo.

himmaleh

Origin

Learned borrowing from Sanskrit हिमालयः (himālayaḥ, literally “abode of snow”).

Himmler

German

From German Himmler.

himself

Old English

From Old English him selfum, equivalent to him + self.

hin

Latin

From Hebrew הִין via Latin and Middle English.

hind

Old English

From Old English hindan ("at the rear"), from Proto-Germanic *hinder.

hinder

Old English

From Old English hindrian, from Proto-Germanic *hindrōną ("to hold back").

hindering

Origin

From hinder + -ing.

Hindi

Persian

Borrowed via Persian from a word meaning "of India."

Hindley

Old English

From Old English hind (“hind, female deer”) + lēah (“woodland clearing, glade”). Equivalent to hind + -ley (“lea”).

hindlook

Origin

From hind + look. Compare hindsight.

hindrance

Middle English

From Middle English hinderaunce, from hinder + -ance.

hindsight

Origin · 1800

From hind + sight, coined in the 19th century.

hindsightly

Origin

From hindsight + -ly. Compare foresightly.

Hindu

Persian

From Persian hindū ("Indian"), ultimately from Sanskrit síndhu ("river," referring to the Indus).

hindudom

Origin

From Hindu + -dom, apparently by analogy with Christendom and Islamdom.

Hinduism

Origin

From Hindu + -ism.

hinduland

Origin

From Hindu + -land. Compare Dutch Hindoeland, German Hinduland.

Hindustan

Persian

From Persian hindūstān, from Hindu + -stan ("land of").

hindustani

Origin

Borrowed from Hindustani ہِنْدُوسْتانی (hindūstānī) / हिंदुस्तानी (hindustānī), from Classical Persian هِنْدُوسْتَانِی (hindūstānī), from هِنْدُو (hindū, “Hindu, Indian”) + ـسْتَان (-stān, “land”) + adjective suffix ـِی (-ī). Equivalent to Hindustan + -i.

hing

Hindi

Borrowed from Hindi hīṅg.

hinge

Old English

From Old English henge/henġe, related to "hang."

hinky

Origin

Origin uncertain; possibly linked to obsolete Scots "hink" or African-American usage "hincty."

hinny

Origin

From Latin hinnus, from Ancient Greek ἴννος (ínnos), γίννος (gínnos). Possibly cognate with hinnire (“to whinny”).

hint

Middle English

From Middle English henten ("to seize, grasp"), related to "hunt."

hinterland

Origin

Borrowed from German Hinterland, from hinter (“behind”) + Land (“land”), cognate to English hinder (“back, rear”) + land. First used in English in 1888 by George Chisholm in his work Handbook of Commercial Geography originally as hinderland, but the current spelling (following German) became more popular. The term is characteristic of a thalassocratic analysis of space (from the point of view of a nation with maritime supremacy, such as 19th-century Britain).

hip

Old English

From Old English hype, from Proto-Germanic *hupiz.

hippie

Origin · 1953

A 1953 variant of "hipster."