"H" Word Origins

hush

Middle English

From Middle English huschen ("to hush"), related to similar hushing words in Low German and Danish.

husk

Old English

From Middle English huske, likely related to an Old English word for a small covering or sheath.

husky

Origin

From husk plus -y, originally describing a voice as dry or rough "like a husk."

hussar

Origin

Borrowed from French hussard, from Hungarian huszár (“cavalryman”), from Serbo-Croatian gusar (“corsair”), from Byzantine Greek χωσάριος, χονσάριος (khōsários, khonsários) or from Italian corsaro (“corsair”), from Medieval Latin cursārius (“pirate”), from Latin cursus (“running”), from currō (“run”). Doublet of corsair and courser.

hussy

Origin

Originally a shortened, casual form of "housewife" — it drifted over centuries from meaning an ordinary woman of the house to carrying a negative, judgmental sense.

hustle

Dutch

From Dutch husselen, meaning "to shake up" — the sense of pushing and jostling came first, and the modern "work hard" meaning developed later in American English.

hustler

Origin

Formed from hustle plus the agent suffix -er.

huswifely

Origin

From huswife + -ly.

hut

Old French

Traced back through Old French and Old High German words for a small covered shelter, ultimately from an ancient root meaning "to cover" or "hide" — the same root that gives us the word "hide."

hutch

Old French

From a Middle English word for a storage chest, later blended with a similar Old French word for "chest" — both ultimately from an old Germanic root for a box or hut.

Hutchins

Origin

From a medieval diminutive of the given name Hugh plus the patronymic suffix -s.

hutchinsonite

Origin

Arthur Hutchinson (1866-1937), Cambridge mineralogist, + -ite.

Hutton

Old English

From Old English hōh ("ridge, spur") plus tūn ("enclosure, settlement").

Hutu

Origin

Borrowed directly from the Rwanda-Rundi language, where it is the group's own name for itself.

Huw

Welsh

From Welsh Huw.

Huxley

Old English

From an Old English personal name plus lēah ("woodland clearing").

Huxtable

Old English

A habitational surname from Devon, from Old English words for "hook or spur of land" and "post."

huynh

Origin

Borrowed from Vietnamese Huỳnh, from 黃 (“yellow”). Doublet of Huang and Wong.

huzzah

Spanish · 1570

Likely started as a cry sailors used while hauling or hoisting something heavy together, related to old words for "hoist" in Swedish and Spanish. First recorded in the 1570s.

hwan

Korean

Borrowed from the Korean word for the currency unit.

Hwang

Chinese

From Chinese 黃/黄 (huáng), rendered in Korean as 황 (hwang).

hyacinth

Latin

From Greek hyakinthos, the name of a flower connected to a mythical youth loved by Apollo; the name later passed through Latin and French before settling into English.

hyah

Origin

Perhaps from a variant of Here!

hyaline

Origin

From Latin hyalinus, from Koine Greek ὑάλινος (huálinos), from ὕαλος (húalos, “glass”).

hyaluronic acid

English

From hyaloid, meaning glassy, plus uronic acid, reflecting the sugar units the molecule is built from.

Hyatt

Hebrew

The surname has several provenances. It can be: #from Hebrew חיט (khayát, “tailor”); #a variant of the surname Highet.

hybrid

Latin

From Latin hybrida, originally meaning the offspring of a domestic pig and a wild boar — a word for "mixed-breed" animal that later broadened to cover anything of mixed origin.

Hyde

Origin

* As an English surname, from the root of hide (“measure of land”). * Also as an English surname, spelling variant of Ide. * As a Jewish surname, Americanized from Haid.

Hyderabad

Persian

Named in honour of the Caliph Ali, nicknamed "Haidar" ("lion") for his valour in battle, combined with a Persian placename suffix meaning "city."

hydra

Greek

Named after the Hydra of Greek mythology, the multi-headed monster slain by Hercules; the tiny pond creature was named for its ability to regenerate in a similar way, and the figurative sense of an unstoppable, ever-multiplying problem comes from the same myth.

hydrant

Origin

A US coinage built from "hydr-" (water) plus the ending "-ant," on the model of words like "hydrate."

hydrate

French

From French hydrate, built from the Greek word hydor ("water") plus the chemical suffix "-ate."

hydration

Origin

Formed from hydrate plus the noun-forming suffix "-ion."

hydraulic

Greek

From Greek hydraulikos, describing a "water organ" — an ancient musical instrument powered by water pressure — built from hydor ("water") and aulos ("pipe").

hydro

Origin

From the prefix hydro-, from Ancient Greek ὕδωρ (húdōr, “water”). By surface analysis, hydr- (“water”) + -o-. The Canadian "electricity" sense is owing to hydroelectricity being the prevalent source of electricity in much of Canada and many electric companies having the word Hydro in their names.

hydrochloric

Origin

Built from "hydro-" (hydrogen) plus "chloric," reflecting the acid's composition of hydrogen and chlorine.

hydroelectric

Origin

Built from "hydro-" (water) and "electric."

hydroforming

Origin

From hydro- + forming.

hydrogen

French

Coined in French by chemists Guyton de Morveau and Lavoisier from Greek hydro- ("water") plus -gene ("producer of"), because burning hydrogen produces water.

hydrophilic

Greek

From Greek hydro-, water, and philos, loving.

hydrophobia

Origin

From Middle English idroforbia (“hydrophobia”), from Latin hydrophobia, from Ancient Greek ὑδροφοβία (hudrophobía), from ὑδρο- (hudro-), combining form of ῠ̔́δωρ (hŭ́dōr, “water”), + φοβία (phobía, “phobia”). The word is analysable as hydro- + -phobia.

hydroponic

Greek

A back-formation from "hydroponics," itself built from Greek hydro- ("water") and ponos ("labour").

hydrops

Origin

From Ancient Greek ὕδρωψ (húdrōps), from Ancient Greek ὕδωρ (húdōr, “water”). Doublet of hydropsy and dropsy.

hydroxide

Origin

Built from "hydro-" (water/hydrogen) plus "oxide."

hyena

Latin

From Old French hiene, from Latin hyaena, ultimately from Greek hyaina — related to hys, meaning "pig," possibly from a resemblance in the animal's bristled back.

hygge

Danish

A Danish word, related to Norwegian hygge meaning wellbeing or comfort.

hygiene

French

From French hygiène, from Greek hugieinē tekhnē, literally "the art of health," from hugies, meaning "healthy."

hygienic

French

From French hygiénique, based on "hygiene."