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"Z" Word Origins

Where do words come from? Trace the origin and history of any English word, from its Latin, Greek or Old English roots through to its modern meaning. Every etymology is sourced.

“Z” Word Origins

Zuri
Swahili
Borrowed directly from the Swahili word zuri, meaning "good" or "beautiful."
Zurich
Latin
The name traces back through German Zürich and Old High German Zurih to the Latin name Turicum, itself probably from an earlier Celtic settlement name.
Zweig
German
Borrowed from German Zweig.
zwieback
Origin
From German Zwieback, from zwie- (“twi-, two-”) + backen (“to bake”) (i.e. “twice-baked”), a calque of Italian biscotto (but not to be confused with it).
zygomatic
Origin
From zygoma + -tic. Doublet of zygomaticus.
zygote
Origin
Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek ζῠγωτός (zŭgōtós, “yoked”) + English -ote (suffix meaning ‘having [the thing to which it is attached]’). Ζῠγωτός (Zŭgōtós) is derived from ζῠγόω (zŭgóō, “to join or yoke together”) + -τός (-tós, suffix forming adjectives of possibility); and ζῠγόω (zŭgóō) from ζῠγόν (zŭgón, “yoke for joining animals; anything which joins two things together”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *yewg- (“to tie together, join, yoke”)) + -όω (-óō, suffix forming causative or factitive verbs). By surface analysis, zygo- + -ote.
zymolysis
Origin
From zymo- + -lysis.
zymosis
Origin
From zym- + -osis.