"S" Word Origins

sworn

Old English

The past participle of swear, from Old English sworen.

swot

Origin

From a dialectal English word, from Middle English swot, swat, from Old English swāt (“perspiration; sweat”), from Proto-Germanic *swaitą (“sweat”). More at sweat.

Sy

Spanish

From Spanish Sy, from Hokkien 施 (Si). Doublet of See, Sze, Siy, and Shi.

sybaritic

Origin

Learned borrowing from Latin Sybarīticus (“of or pertaining to Sybaris or its inhabitants”) + English -ic (suffix meaning ‘of or pertaining to’, forming adjectives from nouns). Sybarīticus is derived from Ancient Greek Συβαρῑτικός (Subarītikós), from Σῠβᾰρῑ́της (Sŭbărī́tēs, “(noun) inhabitant of Sybaris; (adjective) decadent; self-indulgent”) (from Σῠ́βᾰρῐς (Sŭ́bărĭs, “Sybaris”) + -ῑ́της (-ī́tēs, suffix forming demonyms)) + -κός (-kós, suffix meaning ‘of or pertaining to’, forming adjectives). The English word is analysable as Sybarite (“inhabitant of Sybaris”) + -ic. Sybaris, a city of Magna Graecia (the coastal parts of Sicily and southern Italy once colonized by Greek settlers), was known for its wealth and the excesses and hedonism of its inhabitants.

Sybil

Greek

From Greek "Sibylla," referring to the prophetic oracles of antiquity.

sycamore

Old French

Traced back through Old French to Greek sykomoros, "fig-mulberry" — the name was later borrowed for unrelated shade trees in Europe and North America.

sycophancy

Origin

From Latin sȳcophantia, from Ancient Greek σῡκοφᾰντῐ́ᾱ (sūkophăntĭ́ā), equivalent to sycophant + -cy.

sycophant

Greek

From Greek "sykophantēs," literally "fig-shower," originally an informer or accuser in Athens. The literal sense is obscure and much debated; the meaning in English settled on flatterer.

sycophantic

Origin

From Ancient Greek σῡκοφᾰντῐκός (sūkophăntĭkós). By surface analysis, sycophant + -ic.

syd

Origin

Shortening.

Sydney

Origin

For the surname and given name, see Sidney. The cities in Australia and Canada are named after British politician Thomas Townshend, 1st Viscount Sydney (1733–1800).

Sykes

Middle English

From Middle English sike (“marshy stream, gutter, ditch”).

syllable

Ancient Greek

From Ancient Greek syllabē, meaning "that which is taken together," from a root meaning "to gather."

syllabus

Medieval Latin

From Medieval Latin syllabus, "list" — itself traced back to a copying error of a Greek word for a parchment label.

sylph

Origin

First attested in 1657. From New Latin sylphes, coined by Paracelsus in the 16th century. The coinage may derive from Latin sylvestris (“of the woods”) and nympha (“nymph”). Ultimately from the root silva (“woods, forest”). Related to sylvan. More at Wikipedia.

sylvan

Origin

Borrowed from Medieval Latin sylvanus, possibly via Middle French sylvain, from Latin silvanus, cognate with Latin Silvānus (“Roman god of the woods”), from silva (“forest”), from Proto-Indo-European *sel-, *swel- (“beam, board, frame, threshold”). The ⟨y⟩ in sylvanus and its descendants is due to influence from Ancient Greek ῡ̔́λη (hū́lē, “wood, matter”), transliterated in the Latin style as hyle. Analysable as sylva (“silva”) + -an.

Sylvester

Latin

Borrowed from Latin sylvester (“woody, rural”) from silva (“wood”); name of a saint whose feast day falls on December 31.

sylvia

Origin

Feminine form of a Medieval 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.

Sylvie

Latin

Derived from Latin silva (forest).

sylvite

Origin

After the surname of Dutch scientist Franciscus Sylvius + -ite.

symbiont

Origin

From sym- + -biont.

symbiosis

Ancient Greek

From Ancient Greek symbiosis, "living together," from syn- ("with") + bios ("life").

symbiote

Origin

Formed from sym- ("together") + -biote ("living thing"), matching the pattern of symbiosis.

symbiotic

Greek

From symbiosis + the adjective ending -tic, tracing back to Greek syn- ("with") + bios ("life").

symbol

Greek

From Greek symbolon, originally a token or half-coin used as a proof of identity, from syn- ("together") + ballein ("to throw").

symbolic

Latin

From Greek symbolikos, "of or relating to a symbol."

symbolically

Origin

From symbolical + -ly or symbolic + -ally.

symbolism

French

From symbol + -ism; the art-movement sense was borrowed from French symbolisme.

symbolist

Origin

From French symboliste, coined by French poet Paul Verlaine in 1885.

symbolization

Origin

From symbol + -ization or symbolize + -ation.

symbolize

French

Borrowed from French symboliser.

symmetric

Origin

From symmetry + -ic, from Latin symmetria, from Ancient Greek συμμετρία (summetría).

symmetrical

Origin

From symmetry + -ical.

symmetricalness

Origin

From symmetrical + -ness.

symmetrophobia

Origin

From symmetro- + -phobia.

symmetry

Greek

From Greek symmetria, from syn- ("with") + metron ("measure") — literally "measured together."

sympathetic

Greek

Traced back to Greek sympathetikos, related to sympatheia, "fellow feeling" — built from syn- ("together") + pathos ("feeling").

sympathise

Origin

Borrowed from French sympathiser. By surface analysis, sympathy + -ise.

sympathiser

Origin

From sympathise + -er.

sympathize

French

Borrowed from French sympathiser, built from sympathy + -ize.

sympathizer

Origin

From sympathize + -er.

sympathy

Greek

From Greek sympatheia, "fellow feeling," from syn- ("together") + pathos ("feeling").

symphony

Greek

From Greek symphonia, "harmony of sound," from syn- ("together") + phone ("sound, voice").

symposium

Ancient Greek

From Greek symposion, "drinking party," from syn- ("together") + pinein ("to drink") — ancient Greek gatherings for wine and philosophical discussion.

symptom

Greek

From Greek symptoma, "a happening" or "accident," from syn- ("together") + piptein ("to fall").

symptomatic

Greek

From Greek symptomatikos, "of or pertaining to a symptom."

syn

Origin

From Ancient Greek συν- (sun-, “with, together”), having the same function as co- (“synthesis, synoptic”).

synagogue

Greek

From Greek synagoge, "assembly, gathering," from syn- ("together") + agein ("to lead").