"S" Word Origins

supplicate

Origin

PIE word *upó From Late Middle English supplicaten (“to request (that someone do something)”) [and other forms], borrowed from Latin supplicātus (“prayed”) + Middle English -en (suffix forming the infinitive of verbs). Supplicātus is the perfect passive participle of supplicō (“to pray, supplicate; to beg, humbly beseech”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix) for more), from sup- (variant of sub- (prefix meaning ‘below, beneath, under’)) + plicō (“to bend, flex; to fold; to roll up”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pleḱ- (“to fold; to plait, weave”)).

supplication

Latin

From Latin supplicatio, from supplicare "to plead humbly", from supplex "kneeling, submissive", literally "bending under".

supplier

Origin

From supply + -er.

supply

Latin

From Old French soupleer, from Latin suppleo ("to fill up, complete").

support

Latin

From Old French supporter, from Latin supportare.

supportable

Origin

From Middle English supportable, equivalent to support + -able, or possibly from Middle French supportable.

supporter

Origin

From Middle English supporter, supportour, equivalent to support + -er.

supportive

Origin

From support + -ive.

suppose

Latin

From Old French supposer, from sub- ("under") + poser ("to place"), echoing Latin supponere ("to put under, substitute").

supposedly

Origin

From supposed + -ly.

supposition

Latin

From Latin suppositio, from sub- ("under") + positio ("position"), from ponere ("to put, place").

suppository

Medieval Latin

From Medieval Latin suppositorium, from Latin suppono ("to put under").

suppress

Latin

From Latin suppressus, from supprimere ("to press down"), from sub- ("under") + premere ("to press").

suppression

Latin

From Latin suppressio, from supprimere ("to press down").

suppurate

Origin

From Latin suppūrātus, past participle of suppūrō, from pūr-, stem of pūs.

suppuration

Origin

First use appears c. 1425. From Latin suppūrātiō.

supremacy

Origin

From supreme + -acy.

supreme

Latin

From Latin supremus, the superlative of superus ("above"). A doublet of supremo.

supremely

Origin

From supreme + -ly.

sura

Arabic

From Arabic سُورَة (sura, "chapter of the Quran").

Suraj

Hindi

From Hindi सूरज (suraj, "the sun").

surcease

Origin

From Anglo-Norman surseser, from Old French sursis, past participle of surseoir, from Latin supersedēre. Spelling later influenced by association with unrelated cease, which likely also influenced the meaning. Related to supersede.

surcharge

French

From Old French surcharger "to overload", from sur- "over" and chargier "to load".

sure

Latin

From Old French seur, from Latin securus ("secure, carefree"), from se- ("apart") + cura ("care"). A doublet of secure.

surely

Origin

From sure + -ly.

sureness

Origin

From Middle English surenes; equivalent to sure + -ness.

Suresh

Sanskrit

Borrowed from Sanskrit सुरेश (sureśa).

surety

Latin

From Anglo-Norman seurté, ultimately from Latin securitas ("security") — a doublet of the word "security" itself.

surf

Origin · 1990

Origin uncertain, likely from an earlier English word for the rush of waves onto shore. The "browsing the internet" sense was popularized in the 1990s by librarian Jean Armour Polly.

surface

French

Borrowed from French surface, itself built from sur- ("over") + face ("face") — literally the "over-face" of something.

surfboard

Origin

A straightforward compound of "surf" + "board".

surfeit

Origin

From Middle English surfeite, surfet, a borrowing from Anglo-Norman surfet, surfeit and Old French sorfet, sorfait, past participle of surfaire (“to augment, exaggerate, exceed”), from sur- (“over”) + faire (“to do”). The adjective is derived from the noun.

surge

Latin

From Old French surgir ("to rise, arrive by sea"), ultimately from Latin surgere ("to rise up") — related to "resurgent" and "insurgent".

surgeon

Ancient Greek

From Anglo-Norman surgien, ultimately from Ancient Greek kheirourgos ("hand-worker"), from kheir ("hand") + ergon ("work") — the same Greek root behind "surgery" and "surgical".

surgery

Ancient Greek

From Old French surgerie, tracing back to Ancient Greek kheirourgia ("hand-work"), the same root as "surgeon".

Suri

Origin

Borrowed from Bengali সিউড়ি (śiuṛi), সিউড়ী (śiuṛi).

surly

Origin · 1500

A 16th-century alteration of "sirly", from "sir" + "-ly" — originally meant "lordly" or "arrogant" before shifting to today's "grumpy" sense.

surmise

Old French

From Old French surmettre ("to accuse"), from sur- ("upon") + mettre ("to put") — the meaning softened over time from "accusation" to "guess".

surmount

Origin

From Middle English surmounten, from Old French surmonter (“to rise above, surmount”), from sur- (“above”) + monter (“to mount”), equivalent to sur- + mount.

surname

Late Latin

From Old French surnoun ("surname, nickname"), from Late Latin supernomen — literally a "name added on top", from super- ("above") + nomen ("name").

surpass

Middle French

From Middle French surpasser, from sur- ("beyond") + passer ("to pass").

surplice

Origin

Inherited from Middle English surplys, from Old French surpeliz, from Medieval Latin superpelliceum, from Latin super (“over”) and pellis (“fur”).

surplus

Middle French

From Middle French surplus, from sur- ("over") + plus ("more").

surplusage

Origin

From Medieval Latin surplusagium, from surplus.

surprise

Latin

From Old French surprendre ("to overtake"), from sur- ("over") + prendre ("to take"), from Latin prehendere ("to grasp, seize").

surprising

Origin

From surprise + -ing.

surreal

Origin

A back-formation from "surrealism", built from sur- ("beyond") + "real".

surrealism

French

Borrowed from French surréalisme, from sur- ("beyond") + réalisme ("realism").