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Etymology — The origins of English words

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.

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nonfanatic
Origin
From non- + fanatic.
outrow
Origin
From out- + row.
notative
Origin
From Latin notātus + English -ive.
noninstance
Origin
From non- + instance.
oversummer
Origin
From over- + summer.
nonhumanist
Origin
From non- + humanist.
nonemployed
Origin
From non- + employed.
outland
Origin
From Middle English outland, outlond, from Old English ūtland (“foreign land, land abroad”), from Proto-Germanic *ūtlandą (“outland”), equivalent to out- + land. Cognate to Dutch uitland, Afrikaans uitland, German Ausland, Danish udland. The use in the phrase "outland German" is influenced by (or is a calque of) the German cognate of the same meaning, Auslandsdeutsche (see Ausland). The use in the phrase "outland Chinese" is influenced by (or is a calque of) the Chinese term of the same meaning, 華僑 / 华侨 (huáqiáo).
noogenesis
Origin
Equivalent to noos + -genesis; first use appeared c. 1947.
octoberfest
Origin
From October + -fest, after German Oktoberfest.
noneviction
Origin
From non- + eviction.
oilfish
Origin
From oil + fish.
nullifidianism
Origin
From nullifidian + -ism. Compare null and fidelity.
niggle
Origin
First attested in 1599. Origin uncertain, but likely borrowed from dialectal Norwegian nigla (“to be stingy, to busy oneself with trifles”), ultimately from Old Norse hnøggr (“stingy; miserly”), related to Old English hnēaw (“stingy; niggardly”). More at niggard.
noninnocence
Origin
From non- + innocence.
normophile
Origin
From normal + -phile, by surface analysis, normo- + -phile.
nuncheon
Origin
From Middle English nonshench, noneschench, nonechenche (“slight refreshment, usually taken in the afternoon”), from none (“noon”) + shench, schenche (“draught, cup”), equivalent to noon + shink (“to pour out, serve”). More at shink, skink.
overmuch
Origin
From Middle English overmuche, overmuchel, from Old English ofermiċel, ofermyċel (“overmuch, excessive”), equivalent to over- + much. Compare overmany and overmore. Doublet of overmickle. Cognate with Scots over-mekill (“overmuch, excessive”), Old Norse ofrmikill (“overmuch, excessive”), Icelandic ofmikill (“overmuch, excessive”).
ovalbumin
Origin
From Late Latin ovi albumen (“egg white”), + -in.
obtainability
Origin
From obtain + -ability.
nineveh
Origin
From Old English Niniuea (under influence from Biblical Hebrew נִינְוֵה (nīnəwē)), from Latin Nīnevē, from Ancient Greek Νινευή (Nineuḗ), ultimately from Akkadian 𒌷𒉌𒉡𒀀 𒀏 (/⁠Ninua⁠/) or Old Babylonian 𒌷𒉌𒉡𒀀 (/⁠Ninuwā⁠/) of uncertain origin, but is clearly a variation of 𒀏 (/⁠ninâ⁠/, “fish”). The cuneiform seems to denote "House of Fish", although whether this referred to literal fish, an aspect of Ishtar, a separate Hurrian goddess, or something else entirely is unclear. The traditional folk etymology in classical antiquity derived it from an eponymous founder Ninus (Greek: Νίνος (Nínos)).
nightish
Origin
From Middle English nyghtyssh, equivalent to night + -ish.
oxygenase
Origin
From German Oxygenase, corresponding to oxygen + -ase.
nicotiana
Origin
Learned borrowing from taxonomic name Nicotiāna, from (Jean) Nicot (French ambassador to Portugal, who sent seeds back to France in 1561) + -iāna (adjective forming suffix) (feminine of -iānus).