"S" Word Origins

Snyder

German

From German Schneider, meaning "tailor" or "cutter."

so

Middle English

From Middle English so, swo, zuo, swa, swe, from Old English swā, swǣ, swē (“so, as, the same, such, that”), from Proto-West Germanic *swā, from Proto-Germanic *swa, *swē (“so”), from Proto-Indo-European *swē, *swō (reflexive pronomial stem). Cognate with Scots sae (“so”), Saterland Frisian so (“so”), West Frisian sa (“so”), Dutch zo (“so”), German Low German so (“so”), German so (“so”), Danish så (“so”), Norwegian Nynorsk so (“so”), Swedish så (“so, such that”), Faroese so (“so”), Icelandic svo (“so”), Old Latin suad (“so”), Albanian sa (“how much, so, as”), Ancient Greek ὡς (hōs, “as”), Urdu سو (sō, “hence”).

so far

Origin

Compound of so + far. Compare Dutch zo ver.

so that

Middle English

From Middle English so that, so þat, sa þat, swo þat, swa þat, from Old English swā þæt, equivalent to so + that. Cognate with Saterland Frisian sodät, West Frisian sadat, Dutch zodat, German sodaß, sodass.

soak

Middle English

From Middle English soken, from Old English socian (“to soak, steep”, literally “to cause to suck (up)”), from Proto-Germanic *sukōną (“to soak”), causative of Proto-Germanic *sūkaną (“to suck”). Cognate with Middle Dutch soken (“to cause to suck”). More at suck.

soaker

Origin

From soak + -er.

soaking

Middle English

Inherited from Middle English soukynge. By surface analysis, soak + -ing. First attested in c. 1440 in the Promptorium parvulorum.

Soames

Origin

Variant of Soame.

soap

Origin

Probably an abbreviation of sodium pentothal.

soapbox

Origin

Originally a literal wooden crate used for shipping soap, which people would stand on in public to make speeches.

soapy

Origin

From soap + -y. Compare German Low German sepig (“soapy”), German seifig (“soapy”), Swedish såpig (“soapy”).

soar

Latin

From Old French essorer ("to fly up"), ultimately from Latin ex- ("out") plus aura ("air, breeze") — the same root that gives us "aura."

sob

Middle English

From Middle English sobben, likely linked to old Germanic words for drooling or slobbering — the crying sense developed from the shaky, gasping breath.

soba

Japanese

Borrowed directly from Japanese soba, the word for buckwheat.

sober

Latin

From Old French sobre, from Latin sobrius, built from se- ("without") + ebrius ("drunk") — literally "without drunkenness."

soberly

Origin

From Middle English soberly; equivalent to sober + -ly.

soberness

Origin

From Middle English sobernes, sobrenesse; equivalent to sober + -ness.

sobful

Origin

From sob + -ful.

sobriety

Latin

From Old French sobriete, from Latin sobrietas, from sobrius ("sober").

sobriquet

Origin

Borrowed from French sobriquet (“nickname”), from Middle French soubriquet (“a chuck under the chin”).

soc

Origin

A clipped, informal shortening of "sociology" or "society."

soccer

Origin

From an informal British abbreviation of "association" (as in Association Football) plus the playful -er ending, the same pattern that gave "rugger" for rugby.

sociable

Latin

From French sociable, from Latin sociabilis, related to socius ("companion").

sociableness

Origin

From sociable + -ness.

social

Latin

From Middle French social, from Latin socialis ("of companionship"), from socius ("companion, ally").

social Darwinism

English

From the name of the naturalist Charles Darwin, applied to social and political theory. The label was popularised largely by the movement's critics.

social justice

Latin

From 'social', from Latin 'socialis' meaning 'of companionship', plus 'justice', from Latin 'iustitia'.

social media

English

A compound of social and media, media being the plural of medium in the sense of a channel of communication.

socialism

French · 1830

First recorded in the 1830s, from French socialisme or built directly from social + -ism.

socialist

Origin

From social + the suffix -ist.

socialite

Origin

From social (in the sense of "high society") + the ending -ite, echoing the phrase "social light."

sociality

Origin

From social + -ity, from French socialité or directly from Latin sociālitās (“fellowship, sociality”), from sociālis (“social”), from socius (“companion, ally”) + -ālis.

socialization

Origin

From socialize + -ation or social + -ization.

socialize

Origin

From social + -ize.

societal

Origin

From society + -al.

society

Latin · 1530

From Old French societé, from Latin societas ("fellowship, alliance"), from socius ("companion, ally") — first used in English in the 1530s.

socioeconomic

Greek

A compound of 'socio-', from Latin 'socius' meaning 'companion', and 'economic', from Greek 'oikonomia', household management.

sociofugal

Origin

From socio- (prefix meaning ‘society’) + -fugal (suffix meaning ‘travelling out from’), coined by the English psychiatrist Humphry Osmond (1917–2004) in 1957: see the quotation.

sociology

Latin · 1834

Coined in French in 1834 by Auguste Comte, combining Latin socius ("companion") with the Greek suffix -logia ("study of").

sociopath

Origin · 1914

From socio- + -path (as in psychopath), first used around 1914.

sociopathic

Origin

From sociopath + -ic.

sock

Latin

The clothing sense comes from Old English socc, from Latin soccus (a type of light shoe); the "hit" sense is a separate, unrelated word imitating the sound of a punch.

socket

Old French

From Anglo-Norman soket, a diminutive of Old French soc ("plowshare"), ultimately from a Celtic word meaning "pig's snout" — describing the pointed shape.

Socks

Origin

From socks (“a cat’s paws that are a different colour from the main body”).

Socrates

Greek

From Greek Sokrates, of uncertain further origin.

sod

Middle English

From Middle English sod/sodde, related to Middle Dutch and Low German words for turf, of uncertain deeper origin.

soda

Italian

Traces back through Arabic and Italian soda, originally referring to a plant used to produce sodium carbonate.

sodality

Origin

From the French sodalité or its etymon, the Latin sodālitās, from sodālis (“companion”).