"V" Word Origins

vehemently

Origin

From "vehement" plus the adverb suffix -ly.

vehicle

Latin

Borrowed from French véhicule, from Latin vehiculum ("carriage"), from vehere ("to carry") — the same root that gives us "vector."

vehicular

Late Latin

From Late Latin vehicularis, built from "vehicle" plus the adjective suffix -ar.

veil

Latin

From Old Northern French veil ("veil, shroud"), from Latin velum ("cloth, covering") — a doublet of "velum" and "voile."

vein

Latin

From Anglo-Norman veine, from Latin vēna ("blood vessel"). A doublet of vena, the anatomical term still used in Latin names for specific veins.

vel

Latin

From Latin vel, meaning "or".

Velcro

French

A blend of French velours ("velvet") and crochet ("hook"), reflecting the hook-and-loop design.

Velez

Spanish

Anglicization of Spanish Vélez, of patronymic origin ("Son of Vela")

velleity

Origin

From Medieval Latin velleitās, from Latin velle (“wish, will”).

vellication

Origin

From vellicate + -ion.

Velma

Origin

Coined at the end of the 19th century, by analogy with Thelma and Wilma.

velocipede

Origin

Borrowed from French vélocipède, from Latin velox (“swift”) + pes (“foot”).

velociraptor

New Latin

From New Latin Velociraptor, combining Latin vēlōx ("swift") and raptor ("thief, plunderer"). The film Jurassic Park popularised a larger, more human-sized depiction based on a related dinosaur, Deinonychus, after some paleontologists argued the two genera should be merged.

velocity

Latin

From Middle French vélocité, from Latin vēlōcitās ("speed"), from vēlōx ("fast").

velour

French

Borrowed from French velours, meaning "velvet".

velvet

Latin

From Middle English velvet, from Old Occitan veluet, ultimately from Latin villus ("shaggy hair, tuft"). Related to French velours.

velvety

Origin

Formed from velvet plus the adjective-forming suffix -y.

vena

Latin

Directly from Latin vēna, "vein" — the same root that gives English "vein".

venal

Origin

From Latin vēna (“vein”) + -al.

venality

Origin

From venal + -ity, from French vénalité or Latin vēnālitās, from vēnālis (“venal”), from vēnum; compare English vend.

vend

Origin

17th century, likely a backformation from earlier vendible, vendee, vendor inspired by the underlying French vendre, from Old French vendre, from Latin vendere, from vēnum dāre (“to give (something for) sale”).

vendee

Origin

From vend + -ee.

vendetta

Latin

Borrowed from Italian vendetta ("revenge"), from Latin vindicta — the same root as "vindicate" and "avenge".

vendition

Origin

Latin venditio: compare French vendition.

vendor

Latin

Borrowed from Anglo-Norman vendor, from Latin venditor ("seller"), from vendere ("to sell").

veneer

German

From German Furnier, from furnieren ("to cover with veneer"), ultimately from Old Frankish frumjan ("to provide") — related to the English word "furnish".

venerable

Latin

From Old French venerable, from Latin venerabilis, from venerari ("to revere, worship").

venerate

Origin

First attested in 1623; borrowed from Latin venerātus, perfect active participle of veneror (“to worship, venerate”), see -ate (verb-forming suffix).

veneration

Latin

From Old French veneracion, from Latin veneratio, from venerari ("to revere").

venerational

Origin

From veneration + -al.

venereal

Latin

From Latin venereus ("of sexual love"), from Venus, the Roman goddess of love.

venerean

Origin

Compare French vénérien.

venereous

Origin

Latin venereus, venerius.

Venetian

Latin

From Latin Venetianus, from Venetia (the lands of the ancient Veneti people, and later the name for Venice and its region).

venezia

Origin

From Italian Venezia. Doublet of Venetia and Venice.

Venezuela

Spanish

From Spanish, said to mean "little Venice," after stilt houses early explorers saw on Lake Maracaibo.

Venezuelan

Origin

Formed from Venezuela plus the adjective suffix -an.

vengeance

Old French

From Anglo-Norman vengeaunce, from Old French vengier ("to avenge").

vengeful

Origin

Formed from venge (an older verb meaning "to avenge") plus the suffix -ful.

venial

Origin

From Old French venial, borrowed from Late Latin veniālem (“pardonable”), from Latin venia (“forgiveness”).

Venice

Middle English

From Middle English Venyse, from Old French Venise or Old Italian, from Medieval Latin Venetia, from Latin Venetī + -ia (suffix forming place names), a local tribe in antiquity whose own little-attested language is now known as Venetic. Initial scholarly agreement that they were Illyrian was based on arguments since refuted. They worshipped Belenus and were possibly Celtic or heavily influenced by Celtic culture, despite repeatedly supporting the Romans against the Gauls. Compare the identical ethnonym Venetī used for Celts of Armorica (ancient Britanny) from Gaulish Uenetoi (“friendly ones, kinsmen”), from Proto-Celtic *wenet, a modified form of *wenyā (“kindred”). Widely but mistakenly derived by the ancient Greeks and Romans from the Eneti of Pamphylia, supposed to have fled to the Adriatic and become the Veneti after supporting the losing side of the Trojan War. As American places, named after the Italian city. Doublet of Venetia and Venezia.

venipuncture

Origin

From ven- + puncture, equivalent to veno- + puncture but with -i- as interconsonantal (versus -o-).

venire

Origin

Shortening of Latin venīre faciās, the opening words of a writ.

venison

Latin

From Anglo-Norman veneisoun ("meat of large hunted game"), from Latin vēnātiō ("hunting; meat from a hunt"), from vēnor ("to hunt").

Venkat

Sanskrit

Borrowed from Telugu వెంకట్ (veṅkaṭ), from Sanskrit वेङ्कट (veṅkaṭa).

vennel

Origin

Borrowed from French venelle (“alley”).

venom

Vulgar Latin

From Old French venim, from Vulgar Latin *venīmen, ultimately from Latin venēnum ("poison, drug, charm").

venomous

Old French

From Old French venimos, from venim ("venom") plus the adjective suffix -os.