"S" Word Origins

silicone

Origin

Formed from silicon plus the suffix -one, originally coined when chemists tried to make a silicon version of a ketone.

silk

Latin

From Old English seolc, probably borrowed via early Baltic trade routes, ultimately tracing back through Latin and Greek to an East Asian source — the same root that gives us "China" as a byword for fine goods.

silken

Middle English

From Middle English silken, selken, seolkene, from Old English seolcen, from seolc (“silk”) + -en, from an unattested early Proto-West Germanic borrowing from Latin sēricum, from Ancient Greek σηρικός (sērikós, “silken”), from σήρ (sḗr, “silkworm”) + -ικός (-ikós, “-ic”). Equivalent to silk + -en (“made of”). Cognate with Scots selkin, silkin (“silken”), Icelandic silki (“silken”).

silklike

Origin

From silk + -like, q.v.

silky

Middle English

From Middle English sylky, equivalent to silk + -y.

sill

Latin

From Old English syll, "threshold, foundation," related to Old Norse svill and, more distantly, to Latin silva, "forest."

Silla

Origin

From the Revised Romanization or McCune-Reischauer romanization of Korean 신라(新羅) (Silla).

silly

Old English

From Old English sælig, "lucky, blessed" — the meaning drifted over centuries from "blessed" to "innocent" to "simple" and finally to today's "foolish," a similar journey to the word "daft."

silo

Spanish

Borrowed from Spanish silo, of uncertain earlier origin.

silphium

Origin

From Latin silphium, from Ancient Greek σίλφιον (sílphion).

silt

Middle English

From Middle English silte, possibly related to a verb meaning "to filter or strain," and to Germanic words for a salty marsh.

silva

Latin

Borrowed directly from Latin silva, "forest, woodland."

silvana

Latin

From Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish Silvana, from Latin Silvāna.

silvanus

Origin

From Latin Silvānus, a Latin cognomen, from silva (“forest”). The name Silas, from the early Christian apostle, was Latinized as Silvānus by Paul. Doublet of Silenus.

silver

Old English

From Old English seolfor, of uncertain ultimate origin, though related words appear across Germanic, Baltic, and Slavic languages — unusually widespread for a metal name, suggesting ancient long-distance trade.

silver lining

English

From the proverb 'every cloud has a silver lining', picturing sunlight edging a dark cloud with bright light.

Silverman

Origin

silver + -man

silvern

Origin

From Middle English sylveren, selverne, from Old English seolfren, from Proto-Germanic *silubrīnaz (“made of silver”); equivalent to silver + -(e)n. Cognate with Dutch zilveren (“silvern”), German silbern (“silvern”).

silverside

Origin

From silver + side.

silvertip

Origin

From silver + tip.

silvery

Middle English

From Middle English silvery, sylvyry; equivalent to silver + -y.

Silvia

Latin

Feminine form of Silvius, from Latin silva (“forest”). In myths, Rhea Silvia was the mother of famous twins Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome. 6th-century saint Silvia was the mother of the pope Gregory the Great.

Silvio

Italian

Borrowed from Italian Silvio.

Sim

Middle English

From Middle English Sym, diminutive of Simeon and Simon.

sima

Origin

A blend formed from "silicon" and "magnesium."

Simba

Swahili

From Swahili simba, "lion."

Simcoe

Origin

Variant of Simcock.

Simeon

Hebrew

From Hebrew Shim'on, "he has heard."

simi

Malay

The pronoun use comes from Hokkien 甚物 / 什麼 (sím-mi̍h, "what"), borrowed into Singlish and Malaysian English.

simian

Latin

From Latin simia, "ape, monkey," itself from Greek simos, "snub-nosed."

similar

Latin

From French similaire, based on Latin similis, "like, resembling."

similarity

French

From French similarité, built on the same root as "similar."

simile

Latin

From Latin 'simile', the neuter of 'similis' meaning 'like, similar'.

similitude

Origin

From Old French similitude, from Latin similitūdō. By surface analysis, similar + -itude.

simious

Origin

From Latin simia (“ape”) + -ous.

simmer

Origin · 1400

Likely an alteration of the older word "simper" in the sense "to make a faint bubbling sound," first recorded in cookery in the late 1400s.

simmerstat

Origin

From simmer + -stat, modelled on thermostat.

Simms

Origin

From Sim, the short form of Simon + -s.

simoleon

Origin

Most likely a late-19th-century blend of simon (“dollar”), from simon (“sixpence coin”) (17th-century British slang, perhaps related to simony?), and Napoleon (“French gold coin worth 20 francs, bearing the image of Napoleon III”). Perhaps from New Orleans. The gaming sense may have been chosen for its similarity to Sim.

Simon

Old English

From an Anglo-Norman blending of two originally separate names: one from the Hebrew name behind "Simeon," meaning roughly "one who hears," and the other from an Old English/Old Norse name meaning "protector of victory" — the same root that gives us Sigmund.

Simona

French

The feminine form of Simon, filtered through Italian and French.

Simone

French

From French, as the feminine counterpart of Simon.

Simons

Origin

From Simon + -s.

simony

Origin

From Middle English simonie, symonye, from Old French simonie, from Late Latin simonia, named after Simon Magus (Hebrew שִׁמְעוֹן (Šimʻôn, “Simon”)), with reference to Acts 8:18–20.

simp

English

A shortening of 'simpleton'. The older 'foolish person' sense is much older than the internet sense that now dominates.

simpatico

Origin

Borrowed from Italian simpatico or Spanish simpático (“nice, likeable”), ultimately from Ancient Greek σῠμπᾰ́θειᾰ (sŭmpắtheiă, “sympathy”, literally “suffering together”).

simper

Origin

Uncertain; compare (probably from) Danish simper / semper (“coy”), German zimper (“elegant, dainty”).

simple

Latin

From Old French simple, from Latin simplex ("onefold"), built from semel ("the same, once") plus plicare ("to fold") — literally "folded only once," as opposed to something duplex, or "twofold."